Dragonflies
by LadyPeaceGoldenHeart
Summary: Julia Conelly, a 23 year old witch who dropped out of her Auror training, will discover that the one suspect of a strange attack will turn out to be a striking red-headed man with a very suspicious agenda... Crappy summary. Read it, its good. IN-PROGRESS.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: **This is set after HBP- in other words, during Deathly Hallows.** Every quote at the beginning of my chapters are usually in reference to something to come, someone to come, or just something funny that ironically fits with the chapter theme. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowlings owns all.

"_For instance, this new idea that You-Know-Who can kill with a single glance from his eyes. That's a basilisk, listeners. One simple test: Check whether the thing that's glaring at you has got legs. If it has, it's safe to look into its eyes, although if it really is You-Know-Who, that's still likely to be the last thing you ever do." - Fred Weasley_

* * *

September

It was such a quiet autumn day, and I was wasting it (according to my brother) by sitting in the sun, studying the first pages of my history and political science book for an exam. What he didn't know was that I was secretly writing to our younger sister, Hannah, who was presently in her sixth year at Hogwarts. Since I graduated six years ago, and was waiting for a job opportunity, my mother had had the idea of me going to a muggle school, to expand my options. I had found the idea ridiculous at first, but then realized it might be good for me.

So here I was, scratching my signature at the bottom of the letter, adding as a side-note that I would be visiting soon, a little before the Christmas holidays. A loud _bang_ coming from the second floor echoed in my ears. I snapped my head up, to see my brother, grinning widely at me with his perfect smile from my room window.

"I think I broke your telly!" he said, his voice booming.

My cheeks flushed red with frustration. "Heads up would be nice… twat!"

I know, this was undeniably childish of us, but as we were both young adults boring our lives out in an empty house (parents had left for a small vacation in Italy), we usually ended up shouting, breaking things, and as a last resort, hexing the other. Since I was two years older, I was, technically, more experienced in hexes and spells, and not just because I read more. I had studied to become an Auror, but soon realized it wasn't my field of work.

I closed the letter and sealed it with the family crest. I closed my book- studying would have to wait. I got up and ran to the house and up to my room, where my brother was still, lying comfortably on my bed. I saw the television in question; it was entirely burnt.

"Oliver, you couldn't at least have left a few pieces?"

I had managed to modify it with a few spells so it would also get radio stations; I was keeping tab of news, as well as in the magical world as in the muggle world.

He shrugged, glancing at the remains of my proud work. "I wanted to listen to it. It exploded before I could even finish my spell."

I finally smiled. "It has a charm on it, idiot. Only I can activate it. There are some channels on this I am not allowed to listen to; I rather you would not fall on them. If ever you had important information and were caught by Death Eaters, they would easily drag it all out from you with a potion."

"And why can _you_ have access to it?"

I raised my brows. "I _did _pass my Auror training, didn't I? I know a greater deal more than I used to."

He stared at me, making a face. "And why aren't you an Auror, again?"

I rolled my eyes skywards. "That is none of your business."

He got up and came to stand in front of me, his brows frowned.

"They would need someone like you in their ranks, Julia. Why can't you join the Ministry, or some kind of special squad?"

I shook my head, denying any actual talent. "I can't do that to mum and dad, it would kill them."

He shook his head in turn, explosion and television out of his mind. "But you are brilliant at it! You achieved _Oustandings_ at Hogwarts and passed hands-down the first Auror training. Why didn't you continue? You got it in you!"

I couldn't tell my brother I had stopped because of _him_. I wanted to be the example of the family, the inspiration. I didn't want him to follow my footsteps. I simply did everything I could so he wouldn't go in that direction, including tampering with _his_ Auror training results and using my influence so he would not be accepted. He had wanted to excel where I had failed.

"I tried out, but I simply was not good enough to be one," he continued bitterly. "I was hoping you would be the Auror, and help me out after. We could have made a team together!"

I bit my lip. "I would have, you know that," I said, to calm him down. "But it's extremely dangerous now, and I can't leave you guys alone while I'm out there fighting, not knowing if you're okay."

He sighed impatiently. "Julia, you're my sister, and I want _you_ to fight. Isn't that some kind of honour, since you're a girl?"

I frowned. "What? We live in the 19th century now?" I raised my brows.

He growled. "You are the most infuriating woman I've the misfortune to know!"

I snorted. "Ah, so you want to send me to my grave, then?"

If he had fangs, I'm sure he would have made a snake-like hiss. "Jesus, Julia, you _know_ I don't wish that at all. I'm saying this because I know you, and I know you have incredible talent and power. You were born to do this kind of thing, and I hate to see you waste your time reading bloody muggle books when you could be saving lives!"

"And what would you do if I was killed?" I replied hastily. "Take my place and avenge my death? You would get killed as well, leaving Hannah alone!"

"She would have mum and dad!" he shouted, as if the statement solved everything.

"What if something happens to them?" I retorted.

He sputtered on a few words, giving me time to put things in order.

"I cannot leave you guys, and nothing you say will make me change my mind," I said on a final tone. He passed a hand through his short hair, a reflex he tended to do when he was anxious.

"Can you think it over, then?"

I cast him a dark look. "What did I just say, Oliver?"

He shrugged, and walked by me, stopping at the door. "Julia…"

I turned towards him, waiting. "What?"

"I'm not giving up."

His brown eyes lingered on me, fierce, and then disappeared from view.

- - - - - -

October

My 2 o'clock class had just finished; I was slowly making my way out of the building, heading to my secret spot where I would be disaparating. A girl from my history class came rushing down the corridor towards me, panicked.

"Julia! Thank _god_ I found you! There's been an- an attack outside, a weird bloke clad in some sort of covers…" she said, panting. "…he's hit some people; Emma is badly hurt; I escaped before he could get to me- do you have a phone? We have to call the police!"

My eyes widened at the description. Of course, Oxford would be a target by some Death Eaters. It was a big place, full of young muggles; a perfect spot to kill.

I grabbed her hand, steadying her so she would calm down.

"Tell me exactly where he is."

She stood still, probably now more scared by my composure.

"He was next to the gate, on the left, he was moving way too fast, I could barely see him; it was like a bizarre magical thing…"

I had started walking, clutching her arm so she would keep up.

"Is he alone? Have you seen anyone else?"

She shook her head frantically.

"How many down?"

She shook her head again, more vividly this time.

"I don't know! I saw Emma and Corey, there were maybe a dozen more…"

I nodded, making mental notes. He was certainly not alone, that much I knew.

"What did he have in his hands? Did he have a mask, of some sort?" I asked shortly.

Her eyes blinked, trying to remember. She was as pale as a sheet.

"I didn't really look… I- I think so- I don't know!"

"And what happened?" I asked briskly, slightly forgetting she was a muggle.

"He took out a weird stick, starting pointing at people, and..."

She trailed off, but I wasn't listening anymore. We had reached the doors leading to the gates. I grabbed my friend by the arms again.

"Shamara, take my bag and go into the office and make your call there. I'll go see if Emma is okay." I pushed her, waiting for her to have entered the office before running outside in the sunlight.

I walked around, peering. When I got close enough to the gate, I took out my wand. I saw on the other side a few students lying on the ground. They seemed unarmed, which was odd. I cautiously got closer, my heart beating. I hated those situations, and even in training, I just wanted to run away.

Suddenly, a flicker of movement made me turn, and I ducked before the spell hit me straight in the face.

_Sneaky bastard_, I thought viciously.

I ran and took cover on the other side of the gate. I looked back slowly again, and ducked down quickly as another spell past by me with a wheezing wound. Next thing I heard was a loud groan followed by a _clunk!_ and then the fire alarm of the university. Police sirens were soon heard, and suddenly a swarm of people were running around everywhere, screaming and crying. I got up, and looked to where I had seen the spell take off; no one.

I sighed, a headache kicking in. This really wasn't my day.

I walked away from the gate and back into the courtyard, where I met Katy, shrieking my name like I was a godsend.

But I didn't listen to her. My eyes had caught a floating cloak. I searched quickly in the crowd, making sure they weren't playing games on me. And as suddenly, I saw a bright fiery head of red hair, stocky shoulders, and muscular arms taking the cloak off. I barely gave my friend a second glance. I dashed in the crowd, fearless.

_If that bloke gets away for what he did_…, I thought mercilessly.

Soon enough, I caught up to him. I grabbed his shoulders and made him turn. There was a large shiny burn on one of his arms.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" I shouted over the sounds.

He had a beautiful freckled face, so much he looked tanned. His green eyes looked curiously at me, and I knew immediately I had made a mistake.

"Sorry!" I shouted again. "I thought you were someone else!"

He smiled, nodding. I guess he was accepting the apology. I smiled in turn, and without another word, walked back to find my friends.

I glanced behind me once, and saw him walking gracefully through the crowd, his red hair standing out like fire. Another second and he was gone.

I buried my face in my hands. Clearly, I was out of luck.

* * *

A/N: Just to clear up (it seems I have confused some), Julia has been raised half her life in the Muggle world, which explains her affinity with it all. Her brother, on the other hand, was not, since their parents thought it was too complicated, which explains how clueless he is when it comes to that. Of course, he knows a lot more than the usual wizards (a.k.a Ron Weasley) because of his sister, but he doesn't really care. So, there.

Sorry for the muggle-born confusion. I didn't realize until now the clumsy mistake I had written before.

And please review! The best is yet to come.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I will be updating a lot... keep tabs!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

_"Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?" - Ron Weasley_

* * *

A few days later

"See? I _told_ you this was going to happen!"

I rolled my eyes at my brother, as he repeated that line for the hundredth time in less than 72 hours.

"You never predicted Oxford would be attacked," I said, annoyed. "Stop being so bloody smug about it, you know perfectly well it could have happened to another muggle university."

We were eating at the table, as our mother, Rosalie, was serving generous portions of roasted chicken, her favorite muggle recipe; since she was a muggle herself. She had met my father in Italy, yes; he was Italian, and a wizard. They had fallen in love, and moved to London when Rosalie had been pregnant with me. My father had taken a job at the Ministry of Magic. As it was, my parents were very happy, and I hated to destroy their peaceful life by introducing magical catastrophes in the house as a dinner conversation.

"But didn't I tell you that You-know-who has been unleashing forces everywhere? I heard he's even recruiting trolls!" my brother persisted.

I sighed deeply. "Yes, there are many rumours. I don't really care who he recruits, all I care is the lives threatened."

"I heard the Dark Mark was over the Samson's house two nights ago," my father chipped in. "…I haven't heard from the family." His voice went silent.

It wasn't the first time we've heard him give us such news. Every few days, the Dark Mark would appear, sometimes very close, and other times, on the other side of the country. He continued with a tired voice.

"Some Aurors went to look and found the house empty… except for the pet they had. Its head had been chopped off."

I gulped, trying to take the image out of my mind.

"Roberto, the least you could do is keep those details for a time when we're not eating," my mother said, as she was about to take a mouthful of rice.

He shrugged, and went back to his thoughts. I glanced at Oliver; he looked dissatisfied that the conversation was over.

"But what about that bloke you said you saw that day?" he advanced, clearly wanting to debate longer.

"I don't think it was him who did the attack, he looked too…" I hesitated. "…normal. I saw his face, not the Death Eater type," I added.

"But you _said_ he had a cloak on!"

"I saw that at first, but it was nowhere in sight when I came up to him."

"Once again, miss fails to find proof," he said under his breath.

I whacked him on the arm, hard enough to make him wince.

"You wouldn't have done better," I whispered, ticked off.

"Now children, please, you can fight after dinner," Rosalie said casually.

He looked at her, his jaw set. "Right." Then his eyes went to me, challenging. "Nine sharp," he muttered, getting up.

I smiled sweetly at him. "Nine? Because ten is much too late for you?"

He picked up my plate, although I was far from finished, and emptied it in the bin. "No, but I like the lanterns outside. It will help _you _see better." He smirked.

I clenched my teeth. "Watch your back, wiz kid."

He rolled his eyes, imitating me so perfectly I suddenly wanted to laugh. "Dream on sista," he said, clicking his fingers.

Rosalie shot us both a glare, and we hurried out of the kitchen before she would steam us alive. She hated seeing us arguing over stupidities. She knew their prolonged vacation had made a certain effect on our moods. One was bickering much _much_ more. And duelling.

I went up to my room, to see my owl, Sneekpees, perched on my window frame. I quickly took away the letter between her claws and tore it open.

_Dear Julia,_

_You will never believe what happened! You know, my friend Ginny? I told you about her last year; she was in my herbology classes. Anyways, she found a secret passage on the second floor! We still don't know where it leads, but it's something we will know for sure by the end of the week._

_On other matters, my teachers aren't so bad. They are already fussing on our OWL's; which is ridiculous. It's still months away! They give us loads of homework; I've been sleeping five hours a night up to now. But I still love Transfiguration. There's a trip to Hogsmeade, in a few weeks, maybe you should come and visit then? I'll write back later to give you the exact date. Can't wait to hear from you!_

_Love, __Hannah. _

I smiled, my heart easing. I was on high alerts since Dumbledore's death, and anything remotely strange going on in the school, I would be told by her. She had promised to tell me if ever there was something amiss. I was scared for her safety, but my parents kept telling me Hogwarts was the safest place on earth. I was also very doubtful of any place being 'safe'. I knew I couldn't keep her with me forever; she still had a life to build, even in the middle of a war.

Going to Hogsmeade would definitely appease me and would be the perfect opportunity to see the old shops again. I put the letter on my desk; I would write back to her in the morning.

I glanced at the clock; I only had half an hour before kicking my brother's arse. It always pleased me to practice, and there was no one better as a victim than Oliver. He was feisty and quick, which I admired and hated at the same time. And he was unpredictable; but so was I. I looked over to where my burnt television was still; I wasn't able to throw it away just yet.

I rummaged around, thinking. I was good at unknown charms and dreadful spells, but I was above all, good in searching for the bad guys. I would have done my work at the attack, but the muggle police arrived too fast, and I knew some officials from the Ministry would be popping up soon as well. It clearly wasn't the time to investigate.

And that red-headed guy… He could have been the attacker, but something in his eyes made me think otherwise. He could have been a student there as well, hiding his true identity as a wizard. But I had never seen him before. Where did he come from?

I sighed deeply, rubbing my face to get rid of the tiredness sweeping over me. It was almost nine, so I made my way downstairs, grabbed a coat and went into our yard. We had put an invisible wall around the property so as not to be heard shouting nonsense about wizards, brooms and wands.

The lanterns were on, small lights swinging in the cold breeze of the night. He was there, sitting in a chair, fumbling with his wand. He got up when he saw me.

"How about a little warm up?" he asked, gesturing at the sky.

"We are_ not_ flying, how many times do I have to tell you?" I said, eyes widening. "If a muggle sees us…"

"Yeah but it's dark! We have the wall, anyway."

He exasperated me beyond imagination. "The wall doesn't go _up_."

He observed the sky, surprised. "Oops."

I frowned. "What did you do?"

He made a sheepish smile. "I tried some fireworks from a shop in Diagon Alley, one night when you went out with some friends."

My face flushed with anger. "You bloody prick!" I took one step forward, but he was faster.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

Seconds later, I was lying flat on my back, a good fifteen feet away. I slowly got up, catching my breath.

"I didn't say you could hex me!" I said, rubbing my sore back.

His smile was gone. "Why can't you take me seriously?" he whispered. "I'm trying to help you."

"I won't be an Auror Oli! Stop thinking about it!" I had gained by posture, my wand raised, as steady as my hand could muster.

"But you will." A sudden determination flooded his eyes, and I could not understand why.

"Oliver, you are not making any sense!" I shouted, as if the loudness of my voice could actually reason with him. "I make my own decisions!"

He knew what I was about to do and sidestepped to the left, but I was quicker.

"_Incarcerous!_"

Ropes wrapped themselves around him, and he fell to the ground, wildly trying to free himself. I went over to him, feeling slightly nauseous.

"You are my brother, and I will not let you control my life."

He gave me a dark eye. I closed my eyes, shaking my head.

"You are not thinking straight. You need time," I sighed.

I bent close to his face; his features relaxed. "Sleep tight," I whispered. "I heard the night was going to be… cold."

I didn't even smile; it was nothing about revenge or satisfaction. He needed a wake up call, and this was the only thing that came to mind.

He groaned loudly, but I walked away.

- - - - -

November

"Where's that purple cloak I bought a few months ago? I thought it was in my closet!"

I had been desperately searching for it for the last hour. My mother was helping with my suitcase; I was packing for my trip to Hogsmeade, and was truly excited about it. I couldn't wait to spend some time alone with my sister in a place I truly loved.

Rosalie made a pitiful face. "Oh dear," she put a hand to her mouth. "I think I packed it with Hannah's things."

I threw my arms in the air. "Brilliant! It's almost below zero outside, and I have no cloak to put on!"

I checked in my closet for something else to wear, but soon enough, our girly-packing was interrupted by the men of the house. They came in, peeking.

"How's the packing going?" my father asked, eyeing my empty suitcase suspiciously.

"Not very well," I retorted, casting an it's-all-your-fault look at Rosalie.

Oliver, who was right behind, came storming in, eyeing my clothes as well. He had forgiven me for leaving him freezing outside for an entire night. My mother almost had a heart attack at the sight of him; she had accused me of being mean and cold-hearted. I couldn't blame her, but I couldn't tell her what had happened, so I took in every single reproach without a word.

"How long are you going to be there, again?" he asked, making himself comfortable on my little couch.

"I've reserved for a week at the Three Broomsticks," I replied, looking at my clothes critically.

My father soon realized there was nothing else interesting, and quickly left before we would include him into something he called 'women things'. Oliver stayed, enjoying my hysterics as I was still unable to find a single cloak in my closet.

"Mum, did you destroy my entire collection? Or am I completely going out of my mind?"

"Mentally going mad," Oliver added. He winked, finding the whole thing quite hilarious.

"I took a few to clean, but I put them back exactly where they were… do you have a secret door behind all this chaos?" she suggested. "Maybe you forgot…"

I exhaled, and slowly breathed in again. "Yeah, maybe, can't remember…" I looked, but if there _was_ a second closet behind the first one, I would know by now. Suddenly I did remember. I bent down and reached out my arm under the bed. It came out with the whole stash. I let out a cry of victory.

"Found them!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes before taking the bundle of clothes away into her arms. "I'll clean them, _again_."

I made a sheepish shrug before she left. Oliver gave me another wink. "Way to go sister." He made a thumb up.

I ignored him and took the time to put the rest of my things in order so as to be ready to leave. I couldn't apparate on the grounds of the school, so I had to take the train; the same old platform 9 and ¾. I would be leaving tonight.

* * *

A/N: I'll just clear up something: I know her brother sounds incredibly weird, but he's just darn plain persistent. Everyone knows in the family how good Julia actually is as an Auror, and he's the one that knows more than anyone. That's why he keeps pushing her. Voilà.

Reviews = you are the sunshine of my life :D


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Now, the true adventure begins… -smiles- And FYI, the name Julia was picked out by a friend of mine. She was keen on me saying it. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling is the mind-blowing genius behind all this. I just play along with its universe.

_"I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me." - Harry Potter_

* * *

It was very late as I got off the train at the Hogsmeade Station. The platform was tiny and dark. Droplets of water were silently falling, as I slowly made my way to the village. I held on to my bags, my feet spluttering in the mud. As I reached the Three Broomsticks, I heard distant chatters, and opened the door. The lights were dimmed and the barman was cleaning the glasses remaining on the tables. Madam Rosmerta was waiting for me beside the bar, her eyes glittering in the poor lighting. She opened her arms to me as I gave her a warm hug.

"Miss Conelly! How lovely to see you again!"

I smiled back, already feeling quite at ease. "It's great to be back. I've missed this place so much…" I nudged at her stairs. "You wouldn't mind if I went straight to bed?" I asked, another headache kicking in. "I've had, if I may say so, a very long day. I promise we'll catch up in the morning."

"Oh not at all dear, you go right ahead. You must be tired from the journey. Oliver here will be glad to bring your bags up." She gestured me to walk ahead, as I was going to pick up my bags. Gladly, I left them behind and went straight to my room. It was small and cozy, with a window on the street. With a sigh of relief and deep satisfaction, I lied down on the bed, my mind easily drifting to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up a little before breakfast time, which was around six thirty. I got rid of my muggle clothes and changed into comfortable robes. It was Friday; I would only be seeing Hannah the next day. I had brought money to spend; it would keep me busy for a while, at least.

I shared breakfast with Madam Rosmerta, telling her what I'd become and what I would be doing for a week in Hogsmeade.

"It's not like it's big, but wouldn't you like to spend it in Diagon Alley instead? Or somewhere with a denser population?" she asked, eyeing me curiously.

I shook my head, knowing what she was thinking. "No, I'm not undercover for the Ministry, I'm here to see my sister and… simply keep an eye on things."

She nodded. "She's been here a few times, your sister. She sure knows how to bring in a crowd…"

I listened gingerly to everything she had to say, but I soon realized there was nothing indicating that were was something wrong, or had been wrong. Hogwarts seemed alright, from outside. I would make a little visit inside the grounds; I had a feeling that everyone was hiding something, and it was enraging.

I left the place and wandered around outside for some shopping. I knew I would be doing the same with Hannah, but I had to keep my mind from constantly edging to Hogwarts and its secrets.

I went to Zonko's, bought a few things, and went to take a cup of coffee to soothe me and my headaches. They kept coming back whenever I was remotely in a state of anguish or stress. I had brought a few potions, but they had very short effects. The day was cloudy and cold; I could not wait to get my cloak back from Hannah.

I sat in the Three Broomsticks for a hot butterbeer, making conversation to old friends and acquaintances. There was a large crowd, since it was a Friday night. A few professors I waved hello at or shook hands with, but only when I was about to go up to bed did I see a tall bloke standing in the back, next to the bar with a few other guys, drinking. He had his face half-covered in the shadows, but what made me turn was the flash of fiery red hair. I peered expertly at them, slowly going up the stairs. Squared jaw, a crooked smile; I stopped in my steps as it dawned on me.

_Him!_, I screamed furiously at myself.

A few heads looked up at me, wondering why I was gawking at someone, eyes wide. I saw his head shoot up, and quickly disappeared to my room before he could recognize me.

I sat on the bed, taking deep breaths. Was he following me?... I tried not to think of anything linking him to Death Eaters. Who was he? And why was he here, in Hogsmeade, of all places!

I groaned aloud, frustration growing. "Why?!"

Someone knocked softly on my door. "Julia? Are you alright, dear?"

I sighed. "Yes, thank you Madam Rosmerta."

"I'll see you in the morning, then?"

"Yes. Goodnight."

It was probably my imagination. Those headaches were really giving me a hard time seeing things straight. Unnerved and knowing I would not be unable to think straight any longer without going mad, I went to bed.

- - - - -

When I woke up, it was to see Sneekpees perched outside the window frame, hooting madly at me.

"Alright, alright, keep your claws on!"

I opened the squared glass and she flew in, heading straight for her cage I had brought along, grateful to rest. She had dropped the letter on my bed.

_Julia,_

_Last night, the Dark Mark appeared at the Patterson's, a few houses away. Dad thinks we might be next because of mum. We're moving out tonight. I'll let you know when we get to our destination. Be careful. _

_And watch your back._

_Oliver_

Dozens of questions were buzzing in my mind. Annoyed by my brother's brief account of the events, I quickly scribbled down at the back of the letter.

_Oli,_

_What happened? Tell me everything, or I'm coming back home before you'll leave. Give me answers. And stop using Sneekpees all the time, she's exhausted! Write back or you'll see me pop on the front door steps. _

_Julia xx _

I folded it, and headed for the door. Sneekpees hooted indignantly.

"You can barely stand on your feet, girl," I said, opening the door.

She hooted again, fluttering her wings to prove me wrong.

"Stubborn owl," I muttered, attaching the letter to her foot. She bit me lightly and flew out the window.

I got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. I would be meeting Hannah a little before ten. It was already almost nine o'clock, and I still had things to do before spending the day with her.

As I took a mouthful from my cereal bowl, I saw him leaving, his red-hair quickly hidden under his hood as he stepped outside in the cold. I hung my mouth in mid-air. He had stayed in the premises all night! This could not be happening.

I got up swiftly and took off, following in his steps. I was soon in the streets, wandering around, trying vainly to spot him. He was acting too suspicious for my taste, and if I had to hex him into oblivion, then so be it.

Before I even realized it, it was already past ten. I hurried back to the Three Broomsticks, slightly ashamed. She was there, sitting silently, her eyes a little off; which only meant she was daydreaming. Sometimes she said she saw things, but it was probably to get attention. I sat in front of her, grinning.

"Sorry, didn't see time go by," I said, tapping her hand as she blinked back into reality.

"Oh, right. No problem," she said, blinking. She looked unnaturally pale, and her blue eyes stood out, bloodshot. Her blond hair was pulled into a frizzy bun, very unlike her. I ordered water and a large butterbeer to share.

"How are you holding up with school?" I asked, scrutinizing her.

She sighed. "Not too good. I've barely been sleeping this last week. Essays and charms to practice, I still have tons to do. I think I won't be staying long in Hogsmeade today, sorry."

I nodded, fully understanding. "Let me at least change your mind a little. Drink up, and we'll go buy you something, anywhere, you pick."

She lighted up a little, and meticulously drank the entire butterbeer, leaving me with a sip from the bottom. We headed out, window-shopped, and finally entered Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, where she picked out a new set of lavish quills, and I gladly bought them for her. We ate lunch at Madam Puddifoot's, where we had a long talk about her teachers and main gossip in the school corridors. We did our final stop at Honeydukes, where after several minutes of debating our favorite sweets, we bumped into a friend of hers.

"Julia, I told you many times about her, this is my friend Ginny. Ginny Weasley."

The girl was slightly taller than my sister, her face filled of freckles, and her hair of a fiery red, which shocked me into place.

She handed out a hand to me, smiling. "Nice to meet you," she said as I took hold of it, trying to take control over myself.

"Same here," I said, a little too harshly.

"Great, I'm waiting for my brother as well. He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago…"

Hannah saw my expression and quickly changed the subject. "So we were thinking about those Hiccup sweets here, should we get a dozen or…"

She trailed off as a silhouette appeared behind me. Not that I knew it, but the look on her face made it clear, as she stopped talking as well. Ginny turned around, and a brilliant smile appeared on her lips, as she screamed out "Charlie!"

I whirled around, and held a gasp. I clutched Hannah's shoulders, feeling myself a little faint. There he was, _again_.

He hugged his sister tight, before giving me any actual interest. His green eyes sparkled with curiosity, his muscular arm hading out in my direction, palm open.

"Hullo, I'm Charlie Weasley," he said, his voice incredibly warm.

Hannah tugged my arm; I blinked, and nodded, quickly mastering a pleased smile.

"Hi, Julia Conelly," I said finally, shaking his hand. "And my sister, Hannah."

He nodded his head in her direction, acknowledging her with a wink. "We've met before."

I stared at my sister, a little taken aback. "Oh, right."

"Hey, Hannah, did you see the new order that just came in?" boomed Ginny's voice, who had already disappeared behind a rack. Hannah quickly followed suit, leaving me alone with the stranger I had been obsessed with for weeks.

"Care for a drink?" he asked, eyeing me, curious still. "They'll join us later," he finished, cocking his head in the girls direction.

"I- um… yeah- yes, sure… why not," I stammered, feeling ridiculous.

Since I wasn't moving a muscle, he handed out a hand, brows frowned.

"Everything alright?" he asked, concern in his voice.

I blushed slightly, wanting to hit myself. How could I even _think_ he was a Death Eater?! For heaven's sake, look at him!

His squared face and short spiky red hair made him so appealing I wanted to laugh at my own stupidity. I shook my head, forcing a smile.

"I'm alright," I said with more stability. "A drink would be lovely, thank you."

He smiled sweetly at me, backing away to let me leave first. As I stepped outside, I looked at the gathering clouds and sighed. Things sure did have a way of turning out differently.

* * *

A/N: It's only the beginning. God I love Charlie, I don't know why people don't write fics about him much, he's such a hottie! :D

And as always, reviews are hugely welcomed anytime!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sooo sorry. Nothing can excuse this extremely long absence.

Disclaimer: still don't own, so don't sue.

_"You are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet." - Hermione Granger_

* * *

We walked to the Three Broomsticks in silence, but I kept glancing at him, unsure of what I was doing. As we got to the building, I couldn't keep it in any longer.

"So… you come here a lot?" I asked, as he held the door of the pub open for me.

I went in, but I heard him answer behind me. "Not quite."

That voice send chills down my spine in an unusual way. Not the scary kind. We got a table, making sure to keep chairs for our sisters, and ordered up. Madam Rosmerta gave me a wink before leaving us to our business. I sighed, looking away.

"You seem troubled," he said, in an off-hand voice.

I cast him a look of interest. "You seem to know my every mood," I said, drinking.

He smiled mischievously, as if such comment was said to him everyday. I raised my brows, waiting.

"Ah well, something I picked up along the years." He shrugged, and his eyes went to mine. "And… do you come here a lot?" he asked.

I noticed suddenly a cut on his left cheek. It had healed, but the remains of a scar were visible. I quickly answered, seeing him scrutinize me.

"Oh um no, not really. I'm just visiting."

He nodded. "Same here." His face turned to an amused look. "If only my sister wasn't so persistent on me coming every year…"

I smiled, shaking my head. "If I could tell you all the times my sister tried to drag me down here…"

I had to take my eyes away from that scar; so any conversation was welcomed. "So, that hair of yours, I see it's a family trait," I guessed, admiring it.

His hand went up to it, and he laughed. "Yeah, we all got stuck with that famous hair. Not so great when you want to blend in, see…"

"Do you have more siblings, then?"

"Oh sure, brothers a whole lot. Ginny is the only girl, and the youngest."

"How many, exactly?" I inquired, knowing by his tone he did mean _a lot_.

"Six."

"What?"

Six red-haired guys like him? That couldn't _be._

"You heard," he laughed, truly amused. "Imagine how Christmas can be crowded at home."

I laughed, trying to picture it. "Ouch," I said, thinking of the food and presents to do.

"Oh it's bearable," he reassured me, chuckling. "Only, stay away from my twin brothers. They love practical jokes."

I nodded. "And you've all been to Hogwarts?"

"One by one, we've all had the best years of our lives here. Good memories when you come back to visit, no?"

I smiled, knowing exactly what he meant. Hogwarts had been the best second home for many, _many _students. "And what do you do now, for work, I mean?" I asked, and saw him lower his eyes. "If you don't mind me asking?" I finished, my voice shrinking to silence.

His eyes met mine, cold. "I do."

"Oh." My face fell. Whatever did I say wrong?

Seeing my reaction, he quickly got back his manners. "I'm sorry; I usually don't chat around about my job." His eyes levelled to mine again, as if trying to give me a message. "A _secret_ kind of thing."

"Ah." And suddenly, it dawned on me. Maybe he was a Death Eater after all! I had to find out.

"So your _secret_ job would explain that nasty cut you got there..." I asked innocently.

I saw him flicker in surprise, but soon regained his composure. "I'm afraid, yes."

I examined him for a while; thinking it through.

"So, is there something you can _tell_ me about your actual self?" I finally said, trying to find another way to those mysteries and unanswered questions.

He smiled, pleased. "I live in Romania."

"Oh." Well, that's unexpected. "Your family as well?"

"No, I've moved out a few years back."

"And I supposed that would be related to your field of work?" I asked.

He smiled. "Nice try. But no."

Right. Okay, so maybe I could ask my sister, and she could get the information from Ginny... When I glanced up at him, he was gazing at me, as if knowing exactly what I was thinking.

"Unfortunately, none of my family members know what I do."

Crap.

"Ah so you really are a man of mystery," I said playfully.

He winked at me. "I try not to."

This was definitely getting hard. I would have to think it through.

"So, are you staying here long?" I ventured. "In Hogsmeade, I mean?"

He took a sip of his drink before answering. "I go day by day, you see."

Did he have _anything _concrete to tell me?

"You have no idea how long you are staying, or what you'll be doing, or how much it'll cost you, or how-" I stopped short at the sight of his face, looking over my shoulder. "Everything alright?" I risked.

He got up quietly. "Will you excuse me? I'll be right back."

I sat still in my seat, as he walked off to the bar, meeting up with someone who had just arrived, the strangers' face shadowed by his cloak. Suspicion arose again, and I narrowed my eyes. What was he up to? And why was he being so evasive about his private life? I crossed my arms together, and waited, observing from my corner. I saw them talk in low voices, both looking annoyed.

Finally, the man in the cloak took off, and Charlie came back to sit down. I gave him a knowing smile. "Business, I suppose?"

He nodded briskly. "Very frustrating business." He looked so tired and strained, I felt sorry for him.

"Do you like this job?" I asked carefully, not knowing if he'll shut down again into this giant mystery ball.

"Yes… and no. Difficult to explain."

Evasive again. He was starting to get on my nerves, actually.

"You look positively awful," I said after a long pause.

His eyes shot up, surprised. "What?"

I held a laugh. "You don't look too good. Maybe some sleep will help?"

He looked at the huge clock over the bar. "You're probably right." He glanced over my shoulder again. "Have I missed the girls while I was away? It's getting late, they should have been here by now."

I scanned the whole room quickly, double-checking the entrance. "No, I haven't seen them."

He passed a hand through his hair, unnerved. "Ginny is never late."

I frowned at him. "Really? Maybe they've forgotten the time and are still shopping around. I wouldn't be worried." I smiled reassuringly at him. "They'll be fine."

He made a small smile return. " Let's hope so."

Great, a pessimist.

"If they aren't here in ten minutes, we'll head out. How does that sound?" I said, getting a little worried myself.

"Alright."

He drank the last few sips of his drink, and sat back, observing his surroundings. I noticed it must have been a habit of him doing so, either because of his job, or because he didn't trust anyone, with the war raging in the wizarding world.

Both were explainable, but still out of the ordinary. Of course, _being_ a wizard was out of the ordinary, but that's not what I meant.

I felt a sudden chill from the entrance, knowing someone was either coming in or going out. I turned my head, and sighed in relief. Ginny and Hannah entered, bringing along twirls of snow. They spotted us and came to sit. Charlie looked reprovingly at his sister.

"Do you know what time it is?" he asked shortly.

She rolled her eyes, but I saw her flinch at his stare. "Sorry Charlie."

I looked at the clock over the bar, and felt a pang for her. It wasn't_ that_ late.

"Don't you girls need to go back to the school grounds?" I asked, trying to save them reproachful glares from the red-head. I was a little reproachful myself, but they both looked so tired, I couldn't bring myself to come down on them.

Hannah made a hint of a smile at me. "Yes, we should get going."

Charlie took his eyes away from his sister and up to us. "You just got here."

I got up, and held Hannah by the shoulders, feeling slightly protective. "It doesn't matter. Come on sis, I'll walk you back to the gate." She hugged Ginny goodbye, and I nodded curtly at her brother. All I got back was a stare. Hannah was already out, and I swiftly followed.

We walked slowly outside, tiny flakes of snow falling on our noses. The gate wasn't very far, but I needed to speak to her alone.

"Hannah, where did you meet Ginny's brother?" I asked bluntly.

Her head perked up in interest. "Last day of school last year. Why?"

I frowned. "He's hiding something. I couldn't get one tiny glint of information out of him, and it was such a formal conversation!" I said, annoyed at the memory of it.

She smiled at me, as if my outburst was exactly what she was waiting for. "Oh Julia, you like him."

My eyes widened. "What?"

She nodded, grinning. "You are so oblivious when it comes to that."

"I am not," I retorted.

She pushed me playfully. "You are! I saw the way he looked at you when we left. Can't be mistaken with that sort of thing."

"I don't like him, he irritates me," I muttered, pursing my lips together.

"That's how it starts, Julia, don't you see?" She truly was enjoying herself. "You both get on each others nerves, and then- _kaboum!_ It's chemistry and undeniable attraction."

I observed her critically. "When did you start being such a grown-up?"

She shrugged, smiling smugly. "I'm your sister, I _know_ you. And... I've grown a little in maturity, unlikely as it sounds. That's what time does to people."

I sighed in defeat. "Alright! I like him then. So what?"

We were at the gate, a few students were passing through already. She pulled me a little into the dark. "I could ask Ginny, if you want to find out about what he-"

She stopped short as we both saw the two red-heads appearing not too far away, biding farewell. She lowered her voice. "…about what he does for a living? And other things, if you like."

I shook my head. "No, it's okay. If he doesn't want to tell me, it's fine. I'll live with it."

She gave me a tight hug, seeing Ginny leaving. "Okay. Will you be visiting the school then?"

I looked over to the castle, dark form into the beginning night. "Maybe. I'm not sure, it might be complicated, with all the extra security around."

She waved goodbye and turned to run after her friend. I watched them disappear, taking a few steps back. I bumped into something solid and slid down. Strong hands grabbed me before I touched the ground.

"Sorry. Are you alright?" said the voice.

I looked up, and there he was, his eyes deeply staring into mine.

"Yes, thank you." I whispered, swipping away some snowflakes off my shoulders

Seeing he wasn't going to move, I nodded in goodbye and dodged him, heading back to the Three Broomsticks. I heard him follow me a few steps behind, but I didn't even turn to look. If he was remotely interested by me, he would have to talk to get any form of friendship from me.

* * *

A/N: Julia knows that Charlie was the one she saw that day at the uni campus, she just doesn't know _why_ he was there. There's a reason why I keep them from saying what's going on in each other's life- I've got something special coming up. :D

Review on your way out!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: An out-of-the-blue update. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Rowling owns all.

_"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

I went to bed with a tingly feeling of anxiety still left in the pit of my stomach. How was I supposed to sleep, knowing this Charlie bloke was maybe in the room next door, plotting on killing or attacking someone- me, even?

I wandered around my room, fumbling distractedly with my necklace. The thoughts flooding my head were overwhelming. Clearly, something was off about him, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Sure, he looked genuinely nice enough, but that was probably an act. I kept telling myself he wasn't a Death Eater, I knew deep down he wasn't, but my Auror training was kicking in, dominating my reasoning. I could not ray out the possibility of him being an enemy, even if that meant my sister was in danger with that Ginny girl.

I finally put out the remaining candle and curled up in bed, hoping I could have more time solving these unsettling mysteries.

- - - - -

Next morning, I quickly got dressed and ate breakfast and got round to find Madam Rosmerta at the back building with brooms in her hands.

"How can I help, dear?" she asked, seeing me approaching.

I smiled at the sight of her, red cheeks and cracking a smile as well. "Oh, I wondered how we can get in the castle, is it by the gate?"

She nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Students, yes, but visitors… they rarely come for the school sight…" I gave her a minute to ramble on. "… I think you have to send an owl out, and the headmistress will send someone to get you."

I glanced at the far away castle. "That sounds about right, I guess. Thank you."

And I hurled back inside the pub, and up to my room. Sneekpees was perched on the bed frame, finally back from the trip home. "There you are!" I exclaimed in relief.

She hooted in greetings. I ripped open the letter that was attached to her leg.

_Julia, _

_Do not worry, we left the house and went to the countryside. That's all I can say for now. We are all fine, except your owl. I think she needs a break, poor girl. Watch your back and come to us soon._

_Oliver_

I heaved a deep sight. They were safe; that's all that mattered. I took a new piece of roll and scribbled a quick admittance letter to McGonagall. I turned to Sneekpees, who was waiting eagerly for the flight. I made a grimace.

"I don't want you to strain yourself, you can stay if you're too tired..."

She hooted indignantly.

"Oh alright! Not my fault if you faint along the way."

She flew to my shoulder and bit the letter, clearly stating her point. I let go and she flew out the window. I went back downstairs for a quick cup of tea. I hadn't seen Charlie anywhere, and I had to admit, I was trying to look for him- without being too obvious, of course. I chatted a bit with the boy who had carried my bags. I finished my tea and went back up to see Sneekpees back, perched on the window, swaying.

"Oh gosh, go sleep, Sneeks!" I cradled her in my arms and carried her to her cage, taking the answered letter. It was McGonagall's writing, and far away from being the neat and clear way she used to. The answer was brief, and scribbled down so quickly she didn't seem to notice the few spelling mistakes she did along the way:

_Miss Conelly_

_A Sunday, perfect day choosen for visitin the school grounds. I'll be sending someone to get you at the gate 10 o'clock. Meet me at my office. _

_M. M._

How strange. My suspicions grew more than ever. It was time to sort out the truth going on in that school. I got hold of my cloak and left the building hastily. It was already nine forty-five. By the time I crossed the village, I would be right on time.

I fumbled a bit in the heavy snow, but made my way to the gate without any harm. From afar, a small stocky figure was waiting for me. As I got closer, I held myself from displaying any judgement on the witch, who looked positively awful; her face was white as a sheet. She attempted a smile at me, but it looked more a grimace than anything else.

"Hello," her sultry voice said. "I am Alecto Carrow, I teach Muggle studies at Hogwarts. McGonagall has sent me to get you to her office."

She didn't hand out her hand or showed any kind of polite welcome. I felt quite uneasy of her presence. And I kept repeating her name in my head, it rang a bell…

We came across the gate, where she muttered a spell under her breath, before showing me that the road was clear. I advanced slowly, a few steps behind her, just in case. I didn't trust that woman.

We finally got to the entrance doors, and into the main corridor. I saw a few students who were regrouped together, chatting and whispering, but the second we walked in, they dispersed like a flock of birds, casting worried glances at each other. That detail made me frown. Something was clearly wrong, and I was even more anxious to get to McGonagall.

Even though I knew exactly where her office was, I let Alecto lead me there. Finally to our destination, she simply opened the door and took off, without a word. McGonagall was sitting in her chair, her face crestfallen. I quickly closed the door shut, and ran to her, glad of such reunion. She jumped up and hugged me tight, and her I saw her eyes gleam with hope.

"I could not believe my luck when I received your letter this morning, miss Conelly!"

I frowned. "Really? I thought you would be busy, so I wasn't too pushy on coming..."

"Not at all, dear, oh am I glad to see you!" She hugged me again, before inviting me to sit down. "What are you doing, these days?" she asked gingerly, raising her eyes over her glasses to look at me.

"I'm studying at a muggle school for now, but I past my Auror training four years a go," I said, eyeing her dishevelled desk.

She smiled. "Wonderful, wonderful, I am so proud of you, one of my best students fighting for greater good…"

I made a face. "Um- no, not really. I'm not an Auror. I left that behind."

Her eyes blinked. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear. You would have been an excellent Auror, Julia."

I shrugged, not wanting to explain myself. "And how are things here, in Hogwarts? Headmistress now, I presume?"

She nodded slowly. "It has been a very hard year for everyone. Dumbledore left us, but he still lives on in our hearts, I can assure you."

I nodded, thinking back to that powerful, amazing headmaster I admired so.

"If I may be so bold to ask..." I started, "who is that teacher that just escorted me here? She didn't look very… trustful," I finished, lowering my voice.

McGonagall pressed her lips together. "I'm afraid the Ministry has sent new- shall we say, unqualified teachers, and as far as I am concerned, I am quite disgruntled with that decision."

"Alecto Carrow, I know I have heard that name before…" I muttered, thinking it over.

Her eyes were ice cold as she looked at me. "Alecto and Amycus Carrow were supporters of You-Know-Who years ago, but were cleared of any affiliation with him," she said, glancing at the door behind me. "I am in no position to contradict what the Ministry says, but if I say this to you, privately," she added, lowering her head to me, "it is of no matter. If I were Minister of Magic, these two would be in Azkaban right now… -I even had complaints from students," she added suddenly, as her eyes darkened. "Amycus is Alecto's brother, and both have tendencies to… use dangerous punishments towards my students, and I can't do anything about it." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "How I wish Dumbledore was still here amongst us…"

I was horrified, unable to move. "What kind of punishment do they…?" I didn't even dare finish my question. She shook her head.

"Hurtful things, horrible things. Your sister came not too long ago…"

My head shot up, my mind racing. "What?"

She shook her head again, fighting her emotions. "Yes, Hannah, right? She came early one evening, she had this huge slash across her collarbone, and I demanded what had happened, but she wasn't able to tell me, she kept crying, and all I could do was to tell her that everything would be alright."

I sat there, frozen of rage.

"I finally managed to get hold of the full story a few days later by a friend of hers. Hannah had contradicted Alecto in her class by refusing to read some monstrous book explaining how Muggles were simply animals and worthless…"

My hands shook, and she continued.

"Alecto took hold of her and hit her across the face before performing a dark spell on her, which she missed, only hitting her on the tip of her collarbone. Hannah ran out of class and hid in the girl's toilet for some time, before mister Longbottom, a student I highly praise; he convinced her to come and see me, which she did." She sighed. "I supposed your sister has not said a word of this to you?"

I shook my head slowly, unable to believe what I just heard.

"I'm afraid it's a permanent mark. She hides it well, only yesterday did I see her with a scarf around her neck," she continued, a hot cup of tea landing in my hands as she flicked her wand. "I support her best I can; I've sent many requests to remove that teacher, as well as her brother, but I have been ignored. Even my detailed complaints of events as such has had no effect on the Ministry. It's as if the Ministry has disappeared completely from this world."

"That's weird," I said, finally regaining my senses. "My father works there, he would have told me so if something wrong was going on."

She eyed me doubtfully. "My dear, your father is probably threatened to keep his mouth shut if he doesn't want his family to have a Dark mark over his roof one day. Of course he won't tell you," she added, seeing I was about to reply. "He protects you, and wants you safe."

I bit my lip, considering this. My father _had_ been very evasive of his work lately. And he looked exhausted much more than usual.

"The Ministry of Magic is clearly under changes, and no good will come of it," she finished, getting up.

I drank my tea, looking at her while she gazed outside her chilled window.

"I'm too old to do any actual change to the terrible things in this world," she whispered. "But one thing I know…" She paused, turning to me. "I know very well who is up to the task to make those changes." I lowered my eyes, feeling slightly ashamed.

"Minerva... I am unable to fulfill your hopes. I cannot fight this war."

She shook her head vehemently. "Don't be ridiculous, my dear. I know very well your talents, and even if you are not listed as a professional Auror, you _are _one."

I slightly blushed at her praises. "I could try, but I can't guarantee it will do much good. I don't have any connections, no one to trust, and above all, I have a family to protect," I replied.

She frowned. "Your family is well away into hiding right now, I'm sure."

I blinked, surprised.

She made a grim smile. "Most families are hiding these days, it wouldn't be a surprise if yours did the same." I kept drinking my tea. I knew very well she had an idea forging in her mind, and I knew I had to accept it, even if deep down I wasn't ready to. "And as for your connections, you have me, of course. And I have an offer for you."

I raised my brows. The element or surprise wasn't something I particularly liked.

"Work for me."

"What?" I almost dropped my cup.

She nodded, her eyes surveying me, dead serious. "I have work for you, connections, and you have me to trust." She paused briefly, giving me time to process the information. "You know very well there's a war raging, and that You-Know-Who is back," she went on. "The only thing left for us is to fight. Are you prepared to do that?"

I bit my lip. "Can you give me a day to think it over?"

She nodded, and I saw desperation in her eyes. "We would need someone like you in our ranks, Julia," she continued, as a last plea. "You have incredible powers that you are not even aware of yourself."

She would make this really hard for me, if I said no. But still- I had to think it over.

"By tomorrow night, you will have my answer," I promised, getting up. She bid me farewell, asking if I needed an escort back. "No need," I said, putting on my cloak. As I closed the door shut, I took a deep breath. "What the hell do I do now?" I muttered, quickly walking away. As I reached the exit doors, it was snowing, and the sun was behind clouds.

"Oh bugger." I needed a drink.

* * *

A/N: Things are getting interesting.. :P

Click on that green button, I know you want to.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I've been having a writer's-block, couldn't think of anything because what I had first intented with this story was much more romantic. But it'll get there, no worries.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I would be filthy rich. Since it's not the case, here I am, writing a fanfic...

_"You-complete-arse-Ronald-Weasley!" - Hermione Granger_

* * *

I got back to Hogsmeade, and made my way straight to the Three Broomsticks. I had too much thinking to do. I sat in a darker corner than usual, I didn't want any company. Madam Rosmerta insisted upon I ate, so she shoved a big sandwich under my nose. I nibbled at it, my head slowly making clearer decisions.

Work for McGonagall? By doing what? Spying? Fighting? Researching? I had not a clue what to expect, and the thought of it made me dizzy. I hated not knowing where I was going. It drove me mad. Even though I wasn't sure of anything, I knew already what I would say to her. I could not let her down in such a time of need.

A shadow over my head made me look up.

"Can I sit?"

My eyes widened. It was Charlie Weasley, in a dark emerald cloak, smiling at me, his red hair fiery and untidy as ever.

"I- you… sure, of course," I finished lamely, as he sat down.

"You look troubled," he stated.

If he was coming here to investigate on _my_ personal life, he better think again. I shot him a cute smile instead, to lure him to think I was glad to see him.

"Small worries," I said, biting in my sandwich to keep my mouth occupied.

He nodded, thoughtful. "I was going to invite you for lunch, but it seems I'm already too late," he said, looking at my food in hand.

"Oh," was all I could say.

Lunch? As in- a date? What was he thinking? He didn't look remotely interested in telling me about his life the night before. And he thought I was going to open up about mine or something?

_That man was infuriating. _

I frowned. "Well, I was ordered to eat, but as you can see, I haven't eaten much…"

"I won't ruin your lunch. I'll invite you for dessert instead."

I considered this. I was a sweet tooth, and this sandwich I was presently eating was not at all appetizing. I smiled sheepishly.

"I'll take your offer," I answered. "Where to?"

He looked curiously at me. "Where do you suppose?"

I frowned. I knew very well all the shops around, and I didn't know where there could be- Oh right. My mistake. "Madam Puddifoot's?" If I wasn't horrified at this idea, I was humorously entertained by it.

He nodded, holding in a laugh. "You know the place?"

Yes, of course I knew the place. _It was for couples!_ I blinked. "I'm not sure it's appropriate for the food we…" I started, realizing it wasn't a joke.

He got up with an amused smile, handing out his hand to me. "My treat."

I looked wildly around for an excuse to avoid this embarrassing invitation. Bugger, no one around. I gave a last long look at my sandwich, wishing I could take its place.

_Bloody hell. _

I got up and followed him out. The snow was still falling slowly, but the air wasn't much cold. We made small talk on the way since I wasn't able to keep my head straight, with the idea of stepping in Madam Puddifoot's still fresh to my mind.

We got a table; I managed to get one the furthest away from any current couple sitting. I never liked much the place; it was too cheesy to my taste. And it had god-awful decorations on Valentine's Day.

Charlie had read my mind. He got us both a hot cup of coco, with a piece of cake each. We sat in silence for some time, both deep in our thoughts. And suddenly, his head perked up to me.

"I saw you go to the castle this morning. Where you visiting your sister?"

I bit my lip. I hated lying, even to strange good-looking men. "No, not really. I was _hoping_ I could see her, but she's probably…" I stopped dead, vividly reminded by what McGonagall had said about the horrible incident and her mark. "… She's probably studying right now," I finished, taking a sip from my cup to hide the emerging rage again.

He saw that. He cocked his head to one side, his eyes serious. "Has something happened?" I saw that his hand almost went to mine as if to comfort me, but he stopped mid-way, and put it down.

I shook my head, erasing horrible images from my mind. I had a very good imagination, and playing a scene in my head where my sister got seriously hurt made me want to scream and go and kill that teacher with my bare hands. "No, it's just… she has a hard time coping with everything."

"Meaning?"

Why was he so interested in _my_ life now? This was beyond unfair.

"It's none of your business," I retorted, my voice gone cold.

He raised his brows, waited, and then sighed, resigned. "You're right. I have been so formal with you yesterday; it's a bit unfair to question you on your private life."

I peered at him, trying to figure out his plan. If he was trying on pity, it wasn't going to work. Whatever his intentions were of bringing me here, I was already ahead of him.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said, less harshly.

He nodded. "Yes, you may. But I can't guarantee an honest answer."

Progress! He was admitting that he couldn't be honest with me. Well… if it wasn't progress, it was a good start.

"Alright." I waited, still thinking how to ask such a question out loud. "Are you… are you some kind of spy?"

He chuckled. "In a variation of sorts, yes."

I knew it. "Are you a Death Eater?" I asked stupidly.

He laughed out loud. "No! No, of course not!" He took a long breath. "No, I am not," he said more calmly.

I gazed at him for a moment, analyzing his reaction. His eyes looked untroubled and honest. But I didn't dare say more. I didn't want to push my luck. And I was amazed by his answers. Was it all true? He wasn't a Death Eater after all? And a spy? Maybe he worked for the Ministry of Magic!

I kept a straight face. "Are you lying to me just to feed my curiosity?" I inquired, my eyes seeking into his. He looked back at me, his face untouched by mischief.

"No, I am not," he replied, keeping my stare.

"You are being completely honest to a stranger," I stated to him, frowning.

"Well I don't see why I would be admitting to be a Death Eater, I mean- they are being tracked down by half the wizarding world. Of course, even if I _was_ one, it wouldn't be much trouble getting rid of you."

I held my breath. _Nice going Julia._

"Right." I glanced at the door. Clear way out. If he was reaching for his wand, I could take off, and duck near a table to avoid a spell, and when outside… I stopped my scheme at the sight of his incredulous face.

"You seriously don't believe me?" he said, genuinely surprised.

I shrugged. "Danger is everywhere… We can't be too cautious these days," I said, trying to hide my guilt.

He dumped both of his arms on the table. "Roll up my sleeves if you don't believe me," he dared, his eyes gone into slits.

I shot him a dark look. "This isn't funny," I said.

"Look." His face was determined.

I glanced at the door again. It looked tempting. Maybe he was a Death Eater after all, and was waiting for me to get closer so he could threaten my life before using me as bait for… Oh, who cared?

I rolled up his right sleeve, and finally the left, before letting out a sigh. No mark. Nothing.

"See?" He waited for my reaction.

"Well, it doesn't _mean_ anything, you could be working_ for_ them, and you did say you were a spy…"

He rolled his eyes. Ha, who was infuriating now? I smiled innocently.

"You have a vivid imagination, Julia," he said, gulping down his cup, keeping his eyes on me.

"Whatever works to save my life," I retorted, munching on a bite of cake.

"Well, as you now know, I am not a danger to you, so you can relax," he said mockingly.

I kicked his leg under the table. "Don't make fun of me. I was serious."

He chuckled again, looking at his cup. "I've never felt so at ease with someone- even if I don't say much about myself," he quickly added, seeing my annoyed expression.

"Well surprise surprise," I said sarcastically. "The mystery man has now confessed all his secrets." I gave him a good long stare. "Oh come on, tell me what you do for a living, it's driving me mad!"

He smiled briefly. "On one condition."

Ah, there we go. He wanted to know something. Information. I took a few seconds before nodding slowly. "What do you want to know?"

"Who were you visiting this morning at the castle?"

"What's it to you?' I demanded, trying to understand why such information was important to him.

He shrugged. "It might be someone I know."

Nice try. Of course everyone that had studied at Hogwarts knew the entire bloody castle. It wasn't just a question of whom, but also _why_.

"I made a visit to an old friend," I said off-hand.

"Hagrid?"

I frowned. "The gamekeeper?"

He gave me a reproachful look. "Rubeus Hagrid."

"Mmm no," I said, trying to understand this sudden reaction. And knowing it would go on for some time, I blurted out the answer. "I went to see Minerva McGonagall."

His eyes widened. "McGonagall? Interesting…"

"Now will you tell me what it is you do?"

He blinked, still in thought of my answer. "Oh, yes. I study dragons."

_WHAT?_

"All this bloody mystery for _dragons_?!" I spat out, furious. "What about that spy thing?? Just to make it look more interesting?!" I had gotten up, unable to believe how stupid I had been. "You think you'll get more girls if you sound mysterious and out of reach?" I already had my cloak on. "You think I was enough of a fool to fall for it?" I lowered my head to his, my eyes fierce. "Dream on, you arrogant prick."

And I dashed outside, my wand at the ready. I was not going to let him follow me.

* * *

A/N: Everything will be explained in the next chapter, simply click on the arrow and you'll have all the answers.

And also click on that green button, there's a little window that comes with it, and you can write innit! :D I know, technology is wonderful.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: A little surprise visit from someone. You'll never see it coming. And you'll also wonder _why_...

Disclaimer: see previous chapters.

_"It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated." - Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

I walked furiously across the street, so angry at myself I couldn't even think straight. I spotted an alley not far and ran there, dumping myself in the snow, holding in the screams and tears. I hated being taken for a joke, it was humiliating. I sat there, staring at the brick wall in front of me, shaking, thinking about what he had said.

"How could I have been so stupid?" I muttered to myself, shutting my eyes angrily.

I smashed my hands on the ground, trying to force out my anger that way. A stinging pain made me growl instead.

"Julia?"

My eyes shot up sideways, glaring at the newcomer. It wasn't Charlie, to my relief, but it wasn't someone I'd expect to see either. A tall, thin old wizard wearing greyish robes, with a long beard and bright blue eyes surveyed me, a look of utter surprise on his face. I got up, blinking the tears away.

"Oh hello mister Aberforth," I said, remembering instantly his name. "It's strange to see you outside of your pub!" I said, trying to sound cheerful.

He stared at me gruffly, as if trying to decide whether to scowl at me for recognizing him or simply be on his way.

"You haven't changed much from your younger years, miss," he said roughly, taking a step closer to peer at me.

I have gotten to know Aberforth by my many wild nights escaping the castle by secret passage ways and hanging out at the Hog's Head, and becoming the most annoying customer he had ever known during my years at Hogwarts. Nobody ever went to that pub, it had a rather sinister look about it. He hadn't liked me much when I was a kid learning magic and doing really stupid things, which he was a witness of, most of the time. I only did that though because I knew he was lonely, although I didn't know anything about him, except he had a certain obsession with goats. He had told me once about his favorite tale from Beedle the Bard, but I never really understood why he liked goats so much. Maybe it was just a thing.

"I wouldn't think so, sir," I said quickly.

Somehow, I felt quite intimidated by him, unlike before. He didn't look as tall to me now, but there was an aura about him, a hidden force that sent shivers down my spine.

"Explain to me what a young lady like yourself is doing out here in Hogsmeade alone, crying. Surely, you aren't a student anymore…"

I laughed bitterly. "Oh I'm visiting my sister, she's studying at Hogwarts…" I sighed. "I've just had the misfortune to meet a man who turned out to be completely the opposite of what I had expected. So much for good impressions," I finished, looking over his shoulder to make sure Charlie wasn't any near us.

He laughed harshly, a laugh I had heard many times before, flooding my head with memories.

"You might try to start thinking otherwise of the folks around here," he said, turning to walk away.

"Yes, but- wait!"

I fastened my steps to match his, as he was heading down the street to where the Hog's Head stood still, ghost-like.

"Why are you out here today?" I asked, skipping the annoyed face he did in my direction. "I've never seen you do so in all the years I've spent at Hogwarts."

"I'm on personal business," he muttered, quickening his paste.

"What, working for the Ministry?" I asked bluntly, knowing full well in what I was getting myself into.

He stopped dead in his tracks, and turned to me slowly, his eyes shooting daggers.

"What did you say?"

I crossed my arms, ready. "The Ministry, are you working for them?" I asked again, studying his features. He looked much older now, deep wrinkles close to his eyes made him look as if he was always peering at me.

"What a disgraceful question," he spat tartly. "The Ministry will never be anywhere _near_ me; they are lost with themselves, fighting for power, when they cannot even see that darkness has swept over our world already."

"The Ministry is under changes, sir," I said, as he walked past me in a hurry. "Something wrong is going on. I thought you might know something about _that._"

He stopped and turned around, his bright blue eyes troubled. "Miss, even by coming here, you will not find any answers. My advice to you: save yourself, and your sister, and whomever else you love, and hide away."

I frowned. "That's cowardice, Aberforth," I stated gravely, using his name on purpose, giving him a good long stare.

He pursed his lips, dissatisfied with my presence, or himself, I couldn't tell.

"If you can't help yourself to fight, at least find someone who can actually tell you what's to be done. Not that it's any better- mind you."

My eyes widened. "You know someone?"

He frowned in turn, his eyes wary this time.

"Well, I heard a certain headmistress had an offer for you," he mumbled, looking at the far away castle. "You might think about that."

Dumbstruck, I stood there, as he slowly walked away, casting glances as me until he disappeared in the darkness of the pub.

- - - - -

As I happily sat on a stool at the Three Brommsticks, I grabbed the butterbeer that was handed to me. The day had been long, and I was tired to the bone. Madam Rosmerta greeted me with her usual smile.

"My dear, how was your day?"

I closed my eyes, thinking it might just go all away, images, memories, everything. I opened them back, and smiled weakly at her.

"Could have been better," I said, taking a big gulp from my drink.

She nodded knowingly. "I don't want you to strain yourself, love, you deserve much better than all this stress. Haven't you been taking it easy these past few days?"

"Unfortunately, no," I answered, dropping my head on the counter.

"Now, now, you're tired, go to bed darling," she said, ushering me up.

I got up and walked slowly upstairs, feeling a bit dizzy, and very weak. I only managed to get to my door though, I sat on the floor, hiding my face in my hands, a headache kicking in. They had become more painful, even if they weren't as frequent. It was hard to cope with everything. It's one of the reasons why I had stopped my Auror training. I couldn't deal with the amount of work.

I heard someone else coming up the stairs. I set my head deep between my knees, as to not be disturbed. The footsteps stopped, and then I felt something near me. I didn't want to look up, and didn't care who it was. I needed to be alone.

"Julia, you are being a complete fool," a soft voice said beside me.

I kept my head hidden; I didn't want to speak to_ him_.

"You can't escape your problems by shutting down, you know. Even if you wish everything would disappear, things are actually there to stay," Charlie whispered, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I kept my head obstinately down, and my mouth shut.

He sighed. "Alright, I'll talk." I felt him move closer to me. "I know you're upset. I'm not here to make any excuses on my behaviour, but you know, these days, we can't be careful enough… I'm here to explain."

I smiled, despite myself.

"I thought that…," he started, seeming to mull it over, "by letting you think of something incredibly mysterious about me, it would keep you away from asking questions… which did not really work," he said, chuckling slightly. "And by telling you what I really did of my life, I thought it would end there…"

I peeked sideways at him, and saw that he was running a hand through his hair nervously. I quickly dashed back undercover before he could see me.

"All this plotting is to actually destabilize you, because that's what I am told to do, to hide the real secret behind everything," he continued, his voice barely a whisper.

I was all ears. My head perked up finally, and I stared at him, unable to form a coherent word.

He smiled sheepishly. "Of course, I work with dragons- there's no lie about that," he continued. "There's actually something else I do, which I cannot divulge, unless you're in the secret too."

I kept looking at him, transfixed.

"I've realized some things about you that you don't even know yourself, and to see you waste your talent by shying away from the world is… unbearable to watch."

I bit my lip, guilt rising. He looked at me, with those melting green eyes, and I suddenly had a flash. My brain connected all the dots.

"So that day at the university campus…" I said, getting to my feet.

He frowned, getting up in turn. "What are you talking about?"

I backed up to my door. "That's why you were there, because of that thing you do?"

He frowned, clearly not remembering.

"I ran up to you, I was about to curse you so you wouldn't get away…"

His face came to a downing realisation. "You were that girl?" he asked, bemused.

I nodded, still unable to take it all in myself. "I thought you were a Death Eater, and since it looked like I was the only witch present, I wasn't going to let you get away with it…"

His expression softened. "That's why you kept with this idea that I was the bad guy," he said, understanding.

I frowned. "I believe so, in some ways..."

He nodded slowly, letting out a barely audible sigh.

"Right. Well I really need the sleep, I have a big day tomorrow, and some things to think over…" I trailed off, trying to get away. I was dreadfully tired.

His eyes waited for mine to make contact, and he smiled when I finally did.

"I'm Charlie Weasley, dragon tamer," he said, handing out his hand.

I hesitated, but firmly set mine in his.

"Julia Conelly, wicked witch of the west."

_Not my time for originality_, I thought stupidly. He chuckled, a sound that gave me butterflies in my stomach.

"Very nice to meet you. We'll meet again, I hope?"

"Soon."

And with that, I bid farewell with a slight nod, and closed the door behind me.

* * *

A/N: Liked? I hope it doesn't look too rushed between those two, but I gotta admit they don't know each other so well.. but starting fresh shows that there's much more to come..

And review! A few words from your mind is always appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I did a lot of research, and I know the Three Broomsticks doesn't really have rooms to rent, but for the sake of this story, let's just say it does. I didn't want to take the Hog's Head; it's a bit too depressive of a place. There isn't any actual place in Hosgmeade that you can stay, apart from knowing someone that lives in the residential area.. Yeah, I spend way too much time on details. Tell me about it.

Disclaimer: I am too lazy to be creative, so… see previous chapters.

_"Dumbledore would have been happier than anybody to think that there was a little more love in the world." - Minerva McGonagall_

* * *

I woke up slowly, wondering if all the events of the day before had truly happened. I looked up to my window; it would be a greyish snowy day, once again. Mumbling how I hated the cold, I got dressed, and resigned myself to sit down and write a proper answer to McGonagall.

_Dear Minerva,_

_I'm sorry to disappoint you in such time of need, but…_

I frowned, thinking it over. I was being a coward, and I knew it. I closed my eyes, imagining what good I would do if I helped- if I was to become the Auror that I should have been. A whole different future forged itself in my mind, making me sigh in frustration. I had to make up my mind. I started over.

_Minerva,_

_Tell me what to do, and I'll do it. _

_It took me a while to realize that there's a fine line between cowardice, bravery, and selfishness. I was going to bail out on you, right when I knew perfectly well that you needed me._

_I hope I won't disappoint. _

And I quickly signed my name, before I went to wake up Sneekpees, who had been drowsing, almost ebbing away to sleep. I poked her gently, flipping the letter towards her. She blinked and hooted happily.

"Be careful, mmm?"

I opened the window and watched her fly away to the castle. It was snowing lightly, but the dark clouds I saw far in the distance meant worse to come. I took a good breakfast downstairs before heading out to browse in the shops. The Hogsmeade week-end for the students was over, so the shops were quite empty, apart from the owners scrutinizing me as I entered.

I got into Honeydukes Sweetshop, and bought a few Chocoballs and Sugar Quills, some of my favorite confectioneries. The owner, Ambrosius, was peering at me, and I waited, giving him time to recognize me, if ever.

"Hello Mr. Flume," I said, brightly, flashing him a smile. "How is your day?"

He smiled back, but his eyes were still searching for my name.

"A quiet day, miss, I must say," he replied, as I handed over the sweets to get the total amount.

I glanced outside, noting the falling snow was getting much heavier.

"A quiet, stormy day, I must add," I said, searching for my money.

I saw him nod from the corner of my eye. I handed in the gold, before winking at him.

"You can ask me my name and in what house I was in, Mr. Flume. I won't be offended of your short memory loss," I said jokingly.

He finally smiled at me, with appreciation this time.

"I remember you," he finally said, his face warming up. "Although, the only thing I know is that you always bought these," he said, pointing at the sweets presently on the counter.

I held in a laugh. "I've always been a sweet tooth," I said, dumping the stack of food in one of the many pockets inside my cloak.

"I also know you came here a lot more than the usual student," he said, with a twinkle in the eye.

I laughed sheepishly. "Yes, it might have happened a few times, when I really needed chocolate, especially around exams…"

He laughed with me, both knowing full well how foolish I was.

"So, miss Cornelia…"

"Conelly. Julia Conelly," I whispered to him with a grin.

"So, miss Conelly," he said, looking at me over his glasses. "I see you've grown into a beautiful young woman, and an accomplished witch, without a doubt, considering you were clever enough to find the trapdoor in the cellar of my shop in your younger years…" My cheeks went a deep red at that. "So what are you doing with yourself these days?" he asked, leaning back.

I leaned on the counter myself to be more comfortable.

"I've been studying at a Muggle school; I still haven't made up my mind on my future," I started, thoughtfully. "I did an Auror training a few years back, after graduating from Hogwarts, but that didn't work out for me…"

He nodded. "Choosing a career is hard," he said, sympathizing.

I didn't go any further; talking about the past wasn't what I was aiming for. I cleared my throat, taking a bite from a chocoball.

"Have you seen the owner of the Hog's Head wandering around recently?" I asked.

He frowned, thinking. I knew my question sounded off, but I didn't care. The quicker I got information, the better.

"I think I saw him once or twice, in the past month. Quite irregular," he said, rearranging his glasses.

I raised my brows. "You know him well?"

He shook his head. "No. All I know is that everyone's been noticing him more, he never comes out of that godforsaken pub of his- and now, suddenly, he wanders about, always looking behind him, as if scared to be attacked…"

I nodded, taking in the gossip.

"So, before all of this, when was the last time you saw him come out of his pub?"

He scratched his chin. "Mmmm that would be… a few years ago. Before you were even a student here."

I chewed on my chocolate, thinking. There was something about Aberforth that kept me asking questions and wanting to know the answers to all the mysteries surrounding him. He seemed to have had a dark and eventful childhood, to say the least.

"You wouldn't know if he had any relatives living close? Someone I could talk to?"

He shook his head with a sigh. "That man has always been alone, as far as I know."

I munched on another bite, thinking of my possibilities. If I was going to take on McGonagall's offer, I wanted Aberforth with me on it. I trusted him, even with his obsessive goat thing. He was a strong wizard; that much I knew. I thanked Ambrosius for the talk and sweets, and headed out back to the Three Broomsticks. I should have an answer back from Minerva by now.

I ran upstairs, but my owl failed to show, until a quarter of an hour later. I quickly grabbed the letter attached to her leg.

_We leave tonight. Meet me at the Shrieking Shack after Hogwarts diner time._

_M. M. _

I smiled at the last detail. Only a student from Hogwarts knew exactly what time diner was served. I meticulously packed my things in their rightful bags, wrote to Hannah, telling her I was leaving, cleaned the room and took a short nap. I knew it would be a long night.

- - - - -

I went down for my last diner, enjoying the atmosphere. I had barely started eating when I spotted a bright red-head in a corner.

Charlie was speaking to two other men, all bent down, whispering. I didn't like the idea of him being all secretive with me, but seeing the sort of people he was dealing with, I rather not know anymore than I should.

I ate everything in my plate, eyeing the small group of men from time to time. I was intrigued, but right now, I rather enjoyed the nicer view of a young group of wizards singing a song with pints of firewhisky being passed along. I smiled, old memories coming back to me as I watched them.

I had once been quite popular in my house- Ravenclaw. I had never been the goody-two-shoe student, but I had always been witty, and the cleverest to answer the riddles of the entrance to my common room. I had never got one wrong, and was always praised by the knocker, although by my seventh year, he got annoyed and kept the hardest riddles only for me; which to be honest, was quite unfair. I never understood why we didn't just have a password, like the other houses. On my last day of school, I was stuck with the riddle told (hardest one I've ever heard), and almost missed the train because of that knocker. Since then, I had never paid him a visit, and right now, I wished I could go back and try another riddle, just for old time sakes.

As I thought morosely of how much I missed Hogwarts, someone tapped my shoulder. I whirled around, to see Charlie giving me his most charming smile ever.

_He didn't even _need_ to try, _I thought ironically.

"How's my favorite witch?" he asked, sitting next to me.

"She's leaving tonight, sadly," I said, lifting my finger to Madam Rosmerta. Two pints of butterbeer were in front of us before I even had said a word.

"I think she likes you," I said mockingly.

He shook his head, giving her a wink, before turning to me.

"She wouldn't dare interfere in my affairs," he said dramatically.

I laughed silently. His smile vanished, as what I said earlier registered to his brain.

"Why are you leaving?" he asked, a worried on his face.

I raised my brows, biting my lip. "Ah, now_ you_ are curious, aren't you?" I said, taking a rather large gulp from my drink. "I actually can't say- it's personal business, you see."

I almost regretted saying that at once; his eyes darkened.

"Business," he repeated, eyeing me strangely.

I put my hand on his arm, guilt rising. "It's not because of you, I swear," I said, feeling slightly panicky. _I didn't want him to think that! _"I have a favour to return to someone, and I have to leave tonight if I want it done on time," I said, trying not to sound too desperate.

He nodded slowly, glancing at my hand. "Such a pity, though, that we can't get to know each other more… I'm leaving tonight as well," he said, his tired eyes seeking into mine.

"Oh." Taken aback, I took the time to assess what our departure would mean. "You think we could… meet another time?" I asked delicately.

He shook his head, his face grim.

"Dark times are ahead of us," he whispered. "We probably won't see each other again."

I felt my heart sink. "Surely, there can be a way of-"

His stare stopped me from saying any more. I took my hand off his arm, drank what was left in my pint, and got up.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to know each other more," I whispered, pausing behind him. I felt my heart sinking ever lower. "I know some things are meant to be kept secret, and I believe it is for greater good. I really liked you… I'm sorry," I said on a final note, walking away.

I went upstairs, observed the sky, and when it was the right time, I grabbed my luggage and quietly left downstairs by the back door. The street was dead silent, as I approached the Shrieking Shack.

I dumped my bags in the snow, and waited. Minutes later, a tall figure with a pointy hat came from another small street, and stopped in front of me. I held my breath.

"My dear, are you ready?" McGonagall asked soothingly.

I briefly nodded, although my heart was pounding.

"Then, take my arm, and hold on tight," she said, her voice barely a whisper. I saw her glasses reflect in the moonlight.

I did as instructed, and closed my eyes. Before I knew it, my whole body was spiralling away, Hogsmeade High Street disapearing from my view, replaced by dozens of blurry images.

* * *

A/N: Now, for those who may have wondered, Julia doesn't know that Aberforth is Dumbledore's brother. She has no clue, which is why she persists on knowing his past. And I'm surprised no one knows what's going on with Charlie, I thought it would be really obvious. I was probably wrong.

I love reviews! *wink-wink*


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Thanks to ALL my reviewers! _SailingAwaySoftly, Seth's Imprint_, _Jousting Elf with a Sabre_, _violeteyedkitten_, _invisible-gurl_, _Jas120_,_ Randomisation_,_ soccerluver11_ and also the anonymous ones. Love you all.

**P.S.** I had to reread bits of Deathly Hallows- I needed certain details (unable to find on the net), none of which you folks might pick up, but I guess I can't really write if I don't have the right information. Figures.

**A/N** (continued): This is a longer chapter, because I won't be able to update for a while, college started back, and I'm stacked up to the head with projects and essays- final term before university, a.k.a hardcore semester ahead.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, but Rowling does.

_"Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain."_ _- Arthur Weasley_

* * *

I stumbled as we suddenly landed on grass. I held myself to McGonagall for support. I looked around, but since it was already dark, I barely could see the trees in the far distance.

I looked up to her, worried.

"Where are we?"

She patted my hand, as we strode forward. The only thing I could see in front of me was a large field, and that did not tell me anything about our current location.

"Just outside the village of Ottery St. Catchpole," she said, as I frowned at the mention of the name. I didn't know any village of that name anywhere in my memory.

"And why are we here?" I asked, trying to figure it all out.

"You'll see."

We walked up a hill, and I finally saw it; a house far down, light coming out from the lower floors. I couldn't tell what it looked like, but there was one light that was pretty high, which I imagined was the highest floor. Not normal for a house; and it dawned on me it probably wasn't a Muggle's home.

We strode down in silence; I was clutching McGonagall's arm tightly, I still felt disoriented and anxious. I was nowhere near the confidence I had a few hours ago, and not knowing what was waiting for me was dreadful.

We finally got to the front door, which shot wide open the second McGonagall was about to knock. A short, plump figure appeared in the doorway. I was unable to see the face; it was hidden in the shadows.

"Ah, Minerva! I didn't expect you for some time," the voice exclaimed- a woman's voice, to my surprise.

McGonagall ushered me in the bright light of the vestibule. It was a woman indeed- with flaming red hair. I stopped dead, unable to believe it. My old teacher tapped my shoulders, smiling at her.

"Molly, this is our new recruit, Julia Conelly," she said proudly. "And an Auror, to top it off."

I shot her a swift angry look, but I was quickly dragged away by the small woman. She brought me to her kitchen and made me sit down, while she made tea. McGonagall came to sit opposite me, her cloak still on. Mine has been ripped off before I sat.

"Molly, I want her to be part of the next meeting," she asked seriously.

The woman swirled around, and took a good long look at me.

"Julia, dear, is it?" she said, as I nodded. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot my manners," she said, approaching herself, handing out her hand to me. "I'm Molly Weasley, and my house is the Headquarters of the Order."

I glanced at McGonagall uncertainly. Mrs. Weasley saw it and gave the teacher a reproachful look.

"Minerva! You haven't _told_ her yet?" she exclaimed, surprised.

McGonagall rolled her eyes skyward, adjusting her hat. "It was to protect the Order. I wasn't going to tell her everything at Hogwarts-"

"Hogwarts?" Mrs. Weasley turned to me. "Why were you there?" Her eyes turned into slits. "Are you working for the Ministry?"

"No, not at all," I said quickly, shying away from her pointy finger. "I was visiting my sister. I used to be in Ravenclaw. I study at a muggle school now," I finished, trying to have her on my side. I certainly didn't want to have her shouting at me; she looked like she had been about to hex me into oblivion.

She sighed in relief, while McGonagall gave her a reproachful look in turn.

"Do you really think I would risk everything if she were to be working for them?" she spat, getting up.

Mrs. Weasley made a calming gesture.

"I'm sorry, Minerva- it's just the stress… I've been worried so much for my boys."

There was silence, as I looked at them back and forth, wondering if I should say something, or keep silent. Before I could make my mind, Mrs. Weasley broke it off as she poured me tea.

"My dear, I suppose you'll be staying here until the meeting then?" she asked, smiling at me.

I nodded, still unsure.

McGonagall frowned suddenly, and swiftly left the room, before coming back shortly.

"I'm afraid I will have to leave," she said gravely. "I am needed at Hogwarts."

I didn't like the expression on her face, it worried me.

"Minerva, can you keep an eye on my sister?" I asked anxiously, wondering if the reason she was leaving was because of another incident made by the Carrows.

Her expression softened, nodding. "Of course, Julia, I'll protect her best I can."

The anxiety that had been pounding my mind for the last few hours loosened.

"Thank you."

Mrs. Weasley stared at us in disbelief. "What's going on?"

McGonagall shook her head, taking out her wand. "Another time, Molly. For now, I must go." She paused at the kitchen door. "Please fill her in, and I will be in touch." And without another word, she exited the room; I heard her close the front door shut.

I drank slowly, careful not to burn my tongue. Mrs. Weasley sat not too far from me, observing me silently for a while before breaking the ice.

"Do you know where you are?" she asked gently.

I nodded again. "Ottery St. Catchpole."

She smiled shortly. "Yes, correct. This is where I live with my husband, and the remaining of my children, those who are still sticking around." She sighed, taking a long breath. "You are here because Minerva found you were capable enough of helping us in our fight. I believe you know who we are against?"

I nodded again, and cursed silently for doing so. I had to speak up more- or else, I would look utterly stupid for a while.

"You-Know-Who and his followers," I said, holding my cup tight.

"Yes, exactly," she replied, pouring herself a cup of tea. "Many years ago, when the Dark Lord surfaced for the first time, Dumbledore had created an Order, a group that could fight him off, or at least- try to. Many lives were lost, but we stood strong." She looked at me gravely. "The Dark Lord is back, and if you didn't know, now you do."

I didn't say anything, for fear of interrupting her story.

"Dumbledore is gone, but the Order of the Phoenix is still active. _We_ are active, and we are recruiting. My husband tries discreetly to recruit at the Ministry- but you know how hard that can be," she smiled bitterly. "My sons are everywhere, they all have the courage and the will to fight. They are not all in the Order- mind you, but that doesn't keep them away from harm." My ears perked up at this. "Bill has risked so much, and my twins are becoming a bit reckless, them and their practical jokes… and Ron, my youngest, well- he's out there, loyal to his friend Harry Potter, on a quest to find a way to destroy the Dark Lord for good." She sighed again. "As you can see, everyone is doing something different to help. Oh, even my other son, Charlie, he's in Romania recruiting. I only saw him at Bill's wedding earlier this summer, but I suppose he has returned there, for his job."

I raised my brows.

"I've seen your son in Hosgmeade for the past few days, Mrs. Weasley," I said, trying to smile.

"Which one?" she asked, suddenly desperate. I knew that tone; she was desperate for _news_.

"Charlie."

Her eyes widened. "How is he? Is he alright? Why is he in Hogsmeade?"

I bit my lip. "I'm not sure, I don't know him very well. He's probably on a mission for the Order," I said soothingly, realizing what I had said.

_That was the_ secret.

"We haven't discussed anything regarding Charlie in our meetings," she said, frowning.

"Maybe he's acting on his own accord?"

She pinched her lips, finding my explanation unsatisfactory.

"I'll speak to Minerva," she said getting up.

I kept seated; I was incredibly uncomfortable, not because of Mrs. Weasley, but because of everything surrounding this gigantic secret that everyone kept, risking their lives for the cause of it.

At that moment, I heard the front door open, and I glanced at Mrs. Weasley, anxious. I was jumpy; which explains why I got up so fast. She gave me a knowing smile.

"You'll get used to it, dear," she said, walking out.

I heard whispers, followed by an argument, and then she came back with someone else. The man in question must have been her husband; he was skinny and going bald, but the little hair on his head was as red as his wife's, and he wore green robes which looked like they needed a good wash, and his eyes looked at me wide through a pair of glasses.

_Stop with the hair already!_ I thought annoyingly, looking skywards.

I smiled politely, as he circled the table to stop in front of me, frowning.

"Your name?" he asked briskly.

"Julia Conelly, sir," I said, holding my breath.

Mrs. Weasley pinched her lips. "Arthur, Minerva already took care of this! She's not an impostor!" she spat out, clearly taking me under her wing.

He swirled towards her, pointing a finger.

"I've dealt with enough of this nonsense; I will do whatever I can do protect my family and this household. Now please, Molly, go upstairs."

I had the feeling they usually didn't argue about the Order, and the look on her face showed it. She turned to me, after having cast a dark look at her husband.

"Julia, you will take my daughter's room, it's on the first floor. I'll have it ready by the time you go up."

"Thanks." I smiled at her, before she glanced warningly at her husband. He seemed to flush a bit, but as soon as she was gone, his tone was strictly formal.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a student at a muggle university," I said automatically.

He frowned. "And before that?"

I had the feeling Mrs. Weasley had expressed her eagerness a tad too much by announcing I had been an Auror. These people really didn't like the Ministry, obviously- even if he was working there. That was bizarre.

I gulped quickly. "I went into an Auror training. I didn't stay long."

He surveyed me calmly over his glasses, giving him a very Dumbledory-look.

"And you've seen my son in Hogsmeade?"

I nodded slowly. "Yes, Charlie Weasley." I waited for him to dismiss me, because I knew it was the only way I was going to be able to go to bed.

He looked a me a bit longer, before giving it up.

"We'll discuss the rest of this tomorrow. You may go."

I exited the kitchen, and almost ran up the stairs. I wasn't rational about all this, but when people think you're an impostor, it changes your perspective a bit.

I went up the first flight of stairs, and entered the room to my left, even though there was another room. I was going by elimination. The space was small, but bright; there was a poster of the Weird Sisters over the bed and a few others as well, along with some of the Holyhead Harpies. It was clearly a girl's room, and evidently, the only girl of the house. A small desk was stationed in front of the window with a few cardboard boxes on the side.

I opened my bags, which had been brought up and stashed on the bed, and quickly change into something warmer to sleep in. I heard Mr. Weasley come up, stop to my door, before going up three more flights of stairs. I sighed loudly, setting my head on the pillow, and I closed my eyes.

* * *

A/N: Slightly longer, and next chapter might be even more! And things will REALLY get interesting, imagine the meeting... :P And for those who've asked.. you will be pleased to know that there's... MORE CHARLIE TO COME!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: It's a miracle I managed to update. Yay for me. And for you guys too! :D

Disclaimer: Okay, you know the drill… Don't own – don't sue!

"_That which Voldemort does not value, he takes no trouble to comprehend. Of house-elves and children's tales, of love, loyalty, and innocence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. Nothing. That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped." – Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

December

The next few days are still a blur to me; everything had been so chaotic. Wizards and witches came in and out, mostly at night, and Mrs. Weasley never really came round to explaining to me what was going on, she was constantly moving around the house, putting up new charms, changing them, or fixing them if she saw a flaw that could be disarmed. And she dragged the large house clock everywhere with her. It was a particular clock that I hadn't seen before, but I had heard it was quite special. Each family member had its own golden hand, with descriptions all around, showing where each might be, such as 'home' or 'work'. Presently, the nine hands were pointing at 'mortal peril'. I could easily understand Mrs. Weasley's constant worry.

Mr. Weasley, on the contrary, I rarely saw; he left early and didn't come until late at night. I was told he was having problems at the Ministry, and that he hadn't been able to recruit for the past month. I also was told that the Ministry had been taken under control by Voldemort's followers. It was horrible, and the tension over there was becoming unbearable. It made me understand why he had been a bit hard on me that night. No wonder- his life was constantly at risk.

And both of them were so worried for their children. I could relate, I had been worried sick for Hannah myself, since I had left. And I hadn't had any news from my brother, so that worried me as well. I couldn't send a letter because if it was intercepted by a dark wizard, my undercover as a member of the Order could be compromised. I still found it bizarre to call myself so- I hadn't done much but sit around and comfort Mrs. Weasley, and being filled in with information none-stop about the Order's history, but nothing of the present. There hadn't been any actual duel-action. Not that I wanted any, but I felt I would be more of use if it were to be the case.

It had been another week before the meeting took place. For the past few days, I had been in good company with Nymphadora Tonks, a witch that I, surprisingly, had known at Hogwarts. Although she was a year older, and with her being in Hufflepuff, her and I becoming friends had taken a while. Breaking house norms weren't really seen in those days, which explains why our friendship had been hard to keep. So I was pleased to have her at my side in the Order- it felt a lot more reassuring, although her clumsiness always made me wonder how she could possibly survive on the field. She was now pregnant with her recent husband, Remus Lupin, a great man, she said, but who had the misfortune to be a werewolf. Both statements left me dumbstruck. I would have never imagined her future to turn out this way.

When Lupin arrived a day later, I couldn't help myself to shy away. No offence but I had never been that close to a werewolf, and even if Tonks reassured me that he only changed at a full moon, I still kept my distance. They had a weird love thing going on, so when I was stuck with both of them in one room, I had a few excuses staked up in my mind to use as an escape. They really needed to solve whatever was going on; the baby caused most of their arguments. Tonks had opened up to me, told me about her problems and even if I listened carefully, the moment I met Remus, I told myself I wouldn't get involved. He was much older than her, which I restrained myself from saying out loud. And the way he looked at her gave me the chills. It was a loving look, of course, but there was something heartbreaking about it, like he already knew his fate. I didn't like it much, although he was very welcoming towards me, and seemed impressed by my capability to block out what I didn't want to hear, which was a scene he'd witnessed when he and Tonks fought- those unlucky times my excuses to leave weren't enough.

That day, a few more members came in for the meeting- Bill Weasley and his wife, Fleur Delacour, a French woman I found quite irritating, to Tonks and Mrs. Weasley's relief. And there was also Kingsley Shacklebolt, whom I had known way back in my Auror training. I had seen glimpses of him during the summer as a bodyguard of the Muggle Prime Minister on some newspapers. McGonagall came as well, but the grim expression she wore as she entered the house made me dread the meeting more than anything.

I had been sipping tea when she came in the kitchen, dropping her cloak swiftly, before giving me a long sad look, and disappearing out in search of Mrs. Weasley. I frowned, clearly confused. I was beyond tired of being left out; and having all those looks and stares at me with no explanation left me more than irritated. I finished my tea and headed outside for a walk; it was still early in the morning, and the meeting would only take place much later, in the evening.

In the last few days I've spent here, I had fallen madly in love with the Burrow and its surroundings. I could easily see myself in Mrs. Weasley's shoes: living in the countryside, raising a bunch of kids, welcoming my husband home from work, sending off my first child to Hogwarts on his first day… I sighed, wondering when a day like that would come.

I had only walked up to a tree, and sat down, making myself comfortable in the light coat of snow on the ground. It was the time to relax, even if Mrs. Weasley constantly reminded me how dangerous the world was now. I was anxious for the meeting to be held; I had so many questions left unanswered, the mere thought of having them explained sent chills down my spine. None of what I would ask would be easy to hear, or explain, that much I knew. Somehow, I knew tonight would a decisive night for everyone. I had heard that plans would be put in action, and I knew that nothing was going to be an easy task. My eyes drifted to the sky; I blinked and stared, a little surprised when a shadow came over me.

"Yes?"

It was Bill, Charlie's older brother. I had met him briefly, but we didn't chat much, he obviously was more preoccupied with the meeting than I was. Oddly, his disfigured face didn't scare me; I thought it made him look even more graceful for all that he lived through. Mrs. Weasley had praised him so much that I knew almost everything about him before his arrival. There was much more to know, but I guessed I'd find out soon enough, if my status as a member of the Order would follow through the next few months.

He smiled gently, as if I was the nicest person around.

"Mind if I sit?"

I shook my head and scooted a bit to make room for him, where the ground was comfortable enough and not too cold. As he sat, the striking resemblance with Charlie was even more apparent. He had laid back and was enjoying the very little sunlight on his face. I took the time to observe him, until he opened his eyes and turned to me with infinite slowness.

"I heard you've met my brother at Hogsmeade," he said, stating it more than formulating it as a question.

"Yes, I have," I answered, tightening my cloak around me.

"Do you know what has happened to him?"

I didn't dare to meet his eyes. I felt stupid; everyone had asked me where Charlie had gone, but obviously I didn't know, we barely spoke the night of my departure. I felt helpless to have no answers to soothe their worries.

I shrugged like a child.

"We weren't on good speaking terms the last time I saw him," I confessed, finally rising up my eyes to his.

He stared, taking in my expression. He probably was a good mind-reader, like his brother. Maybe some Occlumency classes their parents aren't aware of? I fought the urge to laugh at the thought. Even though I barely knew Charlie, I felt like in some ways, I knew him completely.

"What happened?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Those Weasley boys really knew what to say to try to dig out everyone's secrets…

"Oh it's quite a long story," I retorted, hating where this was actually going.

"I have time on my hands," he said, giving me an encouraging smile.

If I didn't know better, and if he weren't married, I'd think Bill Weasley was flirting with me.

"Honestly, it's nothing that could interest you," I insisted, thinking quickly of a way to flee.

"You would be surprised," he said with a casual voice.

I sighed. I had told my story to Tonks, evidently, and bits and pieces to Molly and Arthur, but laying out everything right now to Bill, of all people? Wasn't I complicating my life… I cleared my throat and started from the beginning. I didn't leave anything out. He had an aura of trust around him, and I felt at ease telling him, even though my head was telling me otherwise. At last, when I reencountered our last conversation at the Three Broomsticks, he frowned.

"He seemed quite preoccupied with something," I added. "I think the spy excuse wasn't really one- he only did that to throw me off, but I suppose what he was doing was for the Order?"

He nodded slowly, thinking.

"I believe it could be so- I haven't spoken to him since this summer. I thought he was back in Romania recruiting for us."

I nodded as well, trying to make connections.

"My mother has sent word for him, but I highly doubt he'll come here, especially if you say he's been dealing with some dark wizards," he said with a sigh.

I peered at him. "You miss him, don't you?"

He chuckled. "As much as you miss your family, I suppose."

"Well, you two seemed to be pretty close in your youth, you were the first boys in the family; surely you did everything together?"

He nodded, smiling. "We sure did."

I smiled back, unable to find any words to help him. We simply sat there, enjoying the little snowflakes that had begun to fall minutes ago; the clouds had taken the sun away. I didn't want to admit that I was cold, and I knew he wouldn't leave until I did, so I kept my mouth obstinately shut. I kept glancing at him, he was so calm about everything, and it struck me that he had probably made peace with a lot of things to be at that level. I still had a long before getting there. The clouds grew darker, and half an hour later, we were still sitting there, slowly freezing our arses off.

From where we sat, we had a beautiful view of the Burrow, and looking at it comforted me. I felt safe here, and was glad I had joined the Order- not only because I could fight, but because I could fight with people I cared about, and fight to protect those I loved.

When I couldn't take it any longer, I got up, shivering. I looked down, wondering why Bill was still sitting, when I realized he was sleeping. I held my breath, seeing for the first the face of one peaceful. Although I didn't want to, I had to wake him up, for obvious weather reasons. I shook him gently, and his eyes opened. Deep green eyes looked into mine. I had such a startling flash I backed up and fell down. He blinked, and got up to help me.

"Are you alright?" he asked, pulling me up to my feet. My eyes were a bit blurry: another headache.

"Yes, yes, I'm good," I said, rubbing my forehead, trying to get rid of the sudden vision and pain. "It's just… you look so much like Charlie. Normal, I know, but I'm not used to-"

He made a saddened smile. "I know. My mother reminds me all the time. It's hard, especially having him gone so long."

I nodded. He glanced at the house.

"Are you ready to go in?"

I nodded again, and took the arm he was handing out to me. We slowly made our way back inside, and once our cloaks off, we gathered in the kitchen, along with Tonks and Fleur, and made ourselves some tea to warm up. I hadn't been a big fan of Bill's wife- I had never had any liking to French people. Their ways annoyed me more than anything. I could not, and would not keep a very long conversation with her. No doubt she was a strong witch, but I personally disliked her, and restrained myself from telling so to Bill. I tolerated her only because she had been woman enough to stay with Bill after his attack with a werewolf. I had heard of that story one night when Molly was feeling slightly mournful and sad, and was glad she had stuck to him. He needed support, and I could see they loved each other very much, she was nice and very helpful, but her refined ways just completely shut me off from liking her in any way.

It was soon dark outside, and I could feel the tension rising, everybody was getting ready for the meeting, and late incomers were ushered up to clean and be fed, as so to be fully apt to participate in the meeting. Molly had made some pork with mashed potatoes and gravy, serving it with peas and carrots, and was giving away plates to everyone, giving me three by mistake. Evidently, she had a lot on her mind.

The meeting was set in the living room, the windows were shut and a large table had been put into place, along with the large Weasley clock, set high enough for everyone to see. We slowly gathered, and as everyone got into place, and plans were laid out on the table, a few quills here and there, ready to be used, Arthur got up and looked down on all of us.

"Let's begin. As of most of you already know, we have anew member," he nodded in my direction, "Julia Conelly, and she will be part of the Order as long as the rest of us. Now, for the main plans, we have a few problems at Hogwarts, as you may have heard of, and I will let McGonagall explain more properly."

The witch got up, nodding in thanks to Arthur. "Hogwarts is not safe anymore, and the Ministry is only doing us harm, because it is dominated by undercover Death Eaters. We all know who they are, and what they are. They are trying to get rid of anyone of Muggle blood, by all means. I have presently two of those teaching at my school, the Carrows, and their presence only perpetuates horror amongst my students. I know getting rid of them is not an option for now, but I strongly feel we should concentrate our concern on the Ministry of Magic. Arthur works alongside his worst enemies, along with Kingsley, we are all risking our lives to find a way to dismantle this growing power and destroy Voldemort for good."

"Destroying the Muggle race… that sounds a lot like Hitler. Are you sure Voldemort is not German?" I asked, more to myself, but unfortunately said it much louder than expected.

Every head turned to me. I sheepishly shrugged.

"Sorry, just a thought."

I saw that McGonagall had suppressed a smile, and I felt much less of an idiot at seeing that someone understood me.

Molly quickly went on. "As Minerva said, we must be aware that infiltrating the Ministry is hard enough, so we have come up with a few plans to -"

The front door suddenly burst open. I whirled around, and gasped. The figure that stood in the door frame looked at me with a knowing smile. I froze, as if I'd been hit by a gigantic wave.

"Sorry I'm late," he said to the general assembly. Every single head turned to him.

"Oh my god," I whispered.

* * *

A/N: Weeeeehaaay I am BACK! Ohhh reviews please; how I have missed them so.. :D

It doesn't look like it, but it's one of my longest chapters... wooo! I tried giving a lot of information instead of going on and about with dialogues all the time. Anyone like that better?


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Wooo an update! Had the day off, so I thought I'd get back into it. And oh btw? You guys will like this. :P

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

_"There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness." – Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

I blinked a few moments, to be sure I wasn't dreaming. Before I even thought of getting up, Molly had already run up to him in his arms.

"Oh Charlie, we were so worried about you!" she exclaimed, as many others got up to greet him.

He shook hands and nodded his head to all, gave a tight hug to Bill, and finally everyone settled back down. I hadn't moved from my seat. I didn't know whether to be happy or annoyed to see him. Instead, I quickly escaped from the room and into the kitchen. I needed to breathe and think properly. I hadn't expected to see him again so soon- or at all, more likely.

I simply sat on the counter next to the window, and gazed at the dark sky. I couldn't see the stars, which was a bad sign for me. I sighed and decided to go back into the meeting before I'd miss out on anything. At the last second, I decided to stick to the doorframe, and listened. Charlie seemed to be oblivious to my sudden disappearance, as he went on explaining where he had been for the past few months.

"… After Bill's wedding, I did return to Romania, but not for long, because I met someone who could give me information from inside the Death Eaters' circle. He wasn't cast out, nor was he one himself previously, but he dealt with them on many occasions concerning dark artefacts. And you must be wondering why in the world could I trust him? After an eventful night where he didn't provide in time for a certain object Malfoy needed, he was threatened in his own house, a few spells were cast, and his wife was killed by accident. Since then, he still works for them from time to time, not as much as he used to, but enough to provide me with insightful information that could be of use to us, and his sole revenge is to make them pay for the death of his wife. So I suppose it's a good thing he's on our side, but I am very careful with him and he does not know of the existence of this Order, nor of its members."

"Surely he must know some things?" Molly retorted, frowning.

Charlie shook his head. "He thinks I'm doing a solo job- he actually thinks I'm a nutcase, for that matter, but he is always there when I ask to meet up for updates. I've been keeping track of a few Death Eaters, thanks to him."

"What is his name, may we ask?" McGonagall said, her eyes suspicious.

"His name doesn't matter, I was asked not to mention him to anyone, by fear they will go and kill his only son. I keep my promises," he finished, pulling his chin up with pride.

There were a few whispers shared along the table as he finally sat down, and then Arthur got back up to continue where they were before they were interrupted. I suddenly realized that Charlie might be an impostor. I thought it through and finally came to the conclusion that he probably wasn't, after all. Molly has been putting up spells all morning, and only the real Charlie could have gone through without any bruises.

I moved away from the door, and went back to sitting on the counter. So after all this time, that's what all the mystery of that red-head was all about. Of course, we would be hearing much more of his stories, but I was relieved that the secret was uncovered. I was even more relieved that the man I had grown to like wasn't a fraud or a murderer, or worse, a Death Eater. Deep into my thoughts, I didn't hear someone come in.

"Quite a shock, isn't it?"

I raised my head up, to see Bill smiling at me. I shrugged.

"I guess it's a good thing he's back now, isn't it?" I said, playing absently with my wand.

"A very good thing, yes."

He came and leaned on the counter next to me.

"I know this might be awkward between you two, so if you want to leave for a few days, we aren't holding you back," he said in a very caring way.

_Acting like an old brother to me_, I thought, touched. And then I thought of my own real brother, whom I hadn't heard of for quite some time. A lump formed itself in my throat. I suddenly eyed him warily.

"It's very kind of you, but I think it's better if I stay and go through with it."

Bill sighed, looking at the kitchen wall distantly.

"My brother hasn't had many girls in his life long enough for him to be happy," he started, glancing at me. "From what you've told me, I know Charlie likes you way more than you think."

I nodded, unable to decide if I did so to agree with him or simply to push him to go on.

"He's been away from home for a few years already, and we all thought he'd live to be single for the rest of his life. The coincidence of meeting you can only be fate…" He paused, giving me time to take it all in. "I'm glad you want to stay, because you both deserve a second chance at this."

It barely registered to my mind that Bill was actually giving me advice on my relationship. It sounded to me as if he was merely taking care of two people he loved (well maybe not me, per say), which I found quite noble of him, and honest.

"Thanks Bill," I said, getting down from the counter. "Is the meeting over?" I asked, approaching the door that was left barely open 2 inches apart.

He was behind me, peering into the slits of the door. "No, they're discussing Lupin's mission, it is of no concern with me. So I thought I'd come and see how you were doing."

I nodded, backing away and leaning on the wall nearby. He stayed near the door, observing me.

"Are you scared?" he asked, careful not to be too loud.

I bit my lip. "Just a bit." I glanced at him briefly. "What about you?"

"I'm always scared… not of death, but scared of losing the ones I love," he said, attempting to smile reassuringly at me.

I pinched my lips together to keep the anxiety from surfacing, and closed my eyes. "Do they have something planned for me?" I asked, sitting down on the floor, my head against the wall. There was a long silence, before he answered.

"Yes."

I opened my eyes and looked straight at him, my heart racing. I understood immediately what he was going to say next. "But it might change since Charlie's here now, won't it?" I said, feeling a pang in my stomach. Either I was a useless member, or I would be doing some crappy work for the Order, while Charlie steals away the mission that was intended for me in the first place.

"Something like that, yes," he said, his face unreadable.

I pinched my lips tighter together. "So be it."

At that moment, the door of the kitchen flew open. McGonagall was standing there looking surprised.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, eyeing me and Bill levelly.

"Yes, never better," I said, getting up, quickly erasing the look of worry on my face.

She eyed me dubiously. "Right. Well whatever you two were talking about, it will have to wait. Julia, we're about to discuss your mission. You better come back in to sit for this."

I nodded and followed her swiftly back to the meeting. I didn't dare to look at Charlie, so I kept my head obstinately down until I was back on my original seat. McGonagall stayed up, and cleared her throat.

"Now, a few things have changed since Charlie's arrival, and our previous plans no longer work thanks to the news he has provided for us," she stated, looking at every face. Then her eyes set on me. "Julia, you have a new mission, and you will not be alone. We have a partner for you, and we hope that both of you can cooperate and reach the goals we have set for you."

I frowned, but kept my mouth shut.

"Charlie has suggested that both of you follow up on tracking a Death Eater in particular, which could lead to find out what You-Know-Who is planning, and prepare ourselves better for what is to come," she continued.

I was about to protest, but thought better, and simply raised my eyebrows to fake my interest in the matter. I still hadn't looked in Charlie's direction, but I was greatly resisting.

"You will be leaving in a few days, but you have to come back before Christmas, as it is wished by Molly for all of us to be together again before we set out for good on our quests. Any questions?"

I cleared my throat. "What about my previous mission?"

McGonagall's mouth twitched, but she did not smile. "Go undercover at the Ministry as an anti-Muggle witch, and get into the Death Eater circle, and get close to Bellatrix Lestrange. Of course that was a long-term mission, but-"

"Then why aren't I doing it?" I retorted, cutting her short.

McGonagall pinched her lips, annoyed. "We have other ideas, Julia. This one wasn't going to work."

I was about to retort again, but I saw from the corner of my eye Bill shaking his head. Molly seemed oblivious to the mounting tension. She got up and smiled brightly at us.

"Now, who's hungry for pie?"

Chatters erupted around the table, and I quickly escaped up into my room. I was angry and beyond humiliated. _As if they thought I wasn't good enough for the job!_ I threw my pillows across the room in a fit of rage, before calming down and sitting on the bed with my back to the door. A few moments later, someone knocked. I didn't say anything. The knocks were heard again. I sat down on the floor with my head against the bed mattress. The knocking stopped, but the door was slowly opened.

"Julia?"

I felt a jolt of electricity run through my body. I recognized that voice instantly.

"Did I tell you to come in?" I said, closing my eyes.

"Well… I knocked a few times. You didn't answer."

"Exactly."

I heard him walk around the room, wondering where I was. When he spotted me, he came around the bed and sat next to me.

"I thought you'd be glad to have a mission with me," he said.

"I was fine before you arrived, Charlie. I would have been fine without you, you and your lies."

He sighed. I still kept my eyes closed.

"I'm sorry. If I had known you were planning on coming here, I would have told you everything," he said quietly.

"But you did know. You knew when I mentioned McGonagall. Don't take me for a fool." Somehow I didn't feel in the mood for a second chance, as Bill had said. I felt like taking my things and getting the hell away from him. I finally opened my eyes and looked at him. "You knew, or else you wouldn't have looked at me so quickly when you came in. You came back because you knew I was here. You knew everything, Charlie. So please, don't try to be a wise arse with me."

He smiled. His face was so freckly, he had a few scars that I hadn't been able to see before, on his face and neck. "Well I thought I had it all under control, but it seems you've guessed everything right. I never said that I didn't know where you were going, I just didn't mention that I knew." He had a cheeky grin on now. "If you're that smart, you should definitely come with me. I need someone like you to track down Death Eaters."

I rolled my eyes skyward. "Oh, now you _need_ me. How convenient."

I knew I was making it hard for him, but at the same time, I knew very well he didn't do anything intentionally. He sighed once more, and I looked down at my hands, anxious for what was to come. I hadn't thought we'd actually reunite, and the mere thought of it was incredibly surreal to me.

"Julia, if I came all the way here to see you, then isn't that worth something?"

I glanced at him, uneasy. "What do you mean?"

"Of course I knew you were planning something with McGonagall. I knew that you were probably going to be integrated into the Order, I knew you'd end up with an intense mission and that I'd never see you again."

His hands went up to my knees, where mine were resting. He grabbed one, and used his other hand to turn my head in his direction.

"Julia, I knew everything. I was a jerk with you, I know that. I could have kept on my secret mission easily, but you left me in such a state, I couldn't bear not to see you again. The only reason I came back is you."

I blinked, unable to believe what I had heard. I had expected to frustrate him, even a full-blown fight with swears and screams and a few curses thrown here and there. But no.. nothing.

"I wasn't expecting _that,_" I said with a scratchy voice.

He chuckled, massaging my hand reassuringly. "I like you Julia, and if you stop lying to yourself, you'll realize you like me as well."

_Damn that Weasley boy._

I looked at him, searching for something that was off, but all I saw were bright green eyes staring intently in mine, waiting. I sighed, defeated.

"Charlie, you are lucky you have charm, or else, I'd have already cursed you into oblivion."

He grinned, closing in the space between us. "I like that."

I peered at him, undecided. "You really mean it?"

"Every single word."

I smiled. "Well... I guess I _can_ give you another chance then," I said, biting my lip, seeing his face even closer now.

"I won't disappoint," he whispered, one of his hands caressing my face softly. And then his lips touched mine so slowly, so gently, I felt myself melt inside. I kissed him back fervently, letting the warm feeling engulf my body.

I wasn't going back on my word- I was giving him a second chance, and I knew I wouldn't regret it.

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A/N: reviews! reviews! :D CHARLIE IS HERE TO STAY LADIES! :)


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: The coming out of the HP6 movie inspired me to get back into it! So here I am with a brand new chapter. (I've also started to reread Deathly Hallows, my memory was getting dim!) Btw, I've changed some minor character names, like Julia's friends and her brother as well. Nothing big, it just sounds better that way.I've had a hard time writing this chapter because of how it ends. It took me a few tries to get it right. You'll see why.

**Many thanks to my reviewers! You guys are truly the ones that keep me going! :)**

Disclaimer: *sighs* don't own, don't sue, people!

_''I had complete faith in you.'' – Hermione Granger_

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_

I woke up the next morning feeling slightly dizzy, due to the fact that I had overslept. I quickly put on a warm sweater before slowly heading down the stairs for breakfast. As I walked down the stairs, I kept thinking back to that moment Charlie and I had shared before being interrupted by Molly bidding me goodnight. She obviously didn't know that we had a connection, and somehow seemed distraught after seeing us so close. I think the fact that she hadn't seen her son in so long, and to see him suddenly in the arms of a woman when he just had gotten home was a bit distracting; for that matter, I completely understood, which is why I stayed as far away from Charlie as possible during breakfast.

"Did you sleep well?" Bill asked me, as I sat down.

I scratched my head. "Yes, yes, very well." And then I noticed he was shooting dark glances at Charlie, making me frown. "Why?"

"Lucky you," he replied, as Charlie gave us his brightest smile. "I was stuck with _him _snoring like a dragon all night."

I hid a smile. "Where did Fleur sleep, then?"

Both brothers looked skyward.

"She said she needed her space," Bill mumbled. "And she insisted that I catch up on things with my long lost brother."

I smiled at him, knowing full well his wife only meant good in her actions.

"Well you did catch up on things, didn't you?" I asked, looking from one to another.

They shrugged at the same time.

"Yeah, sure."

"Yeh, a bit."

I rolled my eyes. "_Obviously_ it was a huge mistake on her part, then."

I ducked just in time as bread leftovers flew over me.

"Porridge or eggs this morning, my dear?" Molly asked swiftly, saving me from any further attack from the brothers' plates.

"Eggs please," I replied, glancing at the two red heads at the other end of the table. They didn't seem like a threat, for now. I gulped down my orange juice, along with my whole plate the minute it arrived. I had been putting off a lot of food in the past week due to my anxiety. Now that things were going a bit smoother, I could allow my body to take whatever it wanted.

"We're off," Bill said later on, as they emptied their third plates.

I raised my brows, my eyes questioning.

"Some routine work I'm showing Charlie," he explained, as they got up.

"Be safe," I said, and realized my voice had echoed Molly's. We glanced at each other with a smile, before she went back to cleaning the dishes as I finished my second plate. The guys went outside and I heard a loud CRACK as they disapparated.

"What kind of routine work?" I asked, bringing my dishes to the counter.

"Checkpoint lookouts," Arthur's voice boomed as he entered the kitchen.

"Is it dangerous?" I asked.

"Not as much as following Death Eaters for months," Molly replied, before her husband could answer me. She pinched her bottom lip, regretting what she had said, but she quickly returned to her cleaning, leaving me with Arthur eating his porridge.

"It is dangerous when they make daily or weekly appearances at the checkpoints. Since we've made sure for that not to happen, we've lowered our risks at being caught. But I can't say it's risks-free," he said, downing his coffee.

"And those checkpoints have been of help?" I asked, unsatisfied.

"Oh, of great help, yes," he replied with a smile. "It has been Bill's mission from the very start, to assign checkpoints to strategic locations for the Order, especially for travelling."

I nodded but before I could ask any further questions, he was already up and running out the door.

"I need to get to work, have a good day!" he shouted as he left.

"You too," I said, but I knew he was already gone.

I muffled a sigh, before getting up in turn. I wanted to get into the action. I was starting to get seriously annoyed at being left out. For some reason, I felt incredibly close to Molly, maybe because she was so welcoming and motherly and over-protective, which made think of my own family, and how I hadn't heard of them in so long.

My heart sank. What if something had happened to them? My mind drifted to my parents, and then my brother. I still hadn't panicked because I knew that as long as I kept telling myself they were safe, I could escape from feeling any distress or anxiety. I also kept telling myself that the only reason I hadn't heard from them was to keep their location secret. I couldn't purposely try to contact them only to soothe my mind. That was selfish and irresponsible and I could not, absolutely not do that to my family. I could not endanger them for my own needs.

I managed to get back to my room to tidy up a bit, knowing Charlie and I would be leaving soon. I barely had stacked up a small pile of clothes that he stormed in, not even taking the time to knock.

"There you are!" he exclaimed with a grin.

"Em hello? Knock, knock! Privacy, rings a bell?" I retorted, as he took me in for a bone-breaking hug.

"Oops… 'got carried away, sorry," he said, shrugging sheepishly.

"So how was the routine work, then?" I asked, as he let go. I sat down on the bed as he sat across from me on Ginny's desk.

"Oh it was alright. He showed me quite a few areas, which we will be using in a few days," he said, glancing at the door behind me.

I frowned. "How can I prepare myself for this mission? Pack some clothes, or none? Do I need some particular object to drag along or a dark artefact that can help us, or a book, perhaps?"

"I've already got everything we need," he answered reassuringly. "Don't bother yourself in bringing anything but the bare essentials."

"And where are we going, precisely?"

"You'll see when we get there."

I shot him a weary look. "I hope you're not keeping me in the dark again, Charlie," I said levelly. "I'm all in, or I'm out."

He nodded, understanding my hint. "No more secrets."

I sighed, feeling like there was still something wrong in the air, and it annoyed me. "Charlie, you do know that your mother is on the verge of a breakdown, don't you?"

His features saddened. "I know. It's exactly why I'm trying to avoid talking about anything related to our mission in front of her, or anything regarding the situations the members of the Order are going through. Dad has had a few downfalls at the Ministry, he told me yesterday how hard it was to see everything change so quickly. It's shattering him all over. I wish he'd do something else…"

"Like repair a motorcycle?"

His eyes lightened up. "You know about that?"

"All I know is that Harry Potter came here with the gamekeeper of Hogwarts in late August on a flying motorcycle, pursued by Death Eaters and You-Know-Who, apparently. I know that it's hidden in the backyard because your father asked me how much I knew about Muggle transports, and he showed it to me. I've been helping him out here and there, whenever he had a minute to spare away from his wife. And yes," I added as he was about to retort, "I know your mother doesn't know, and I am not going to tell her. Don't worry."

A smiled appeared on his lips. "I'm glad you're here, Julia. You make everything better."

I smiled back. "I try to make the best of everyday, really."

He got off the desk and came to sit next to me, taking my left hand in his.

"I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I just want you to know that I trust you completely, Julia. I wouldn't be doing this mission with you if it weren't the case. I'd be already off on my own, somewhere in south of England, chasing after god knows who."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, knowing I didn't have to answer back. I sat there, feeling the calm of the place.

"I love this house," I whispered, off topic. "It's away from any noise or disturbance. It's a peaceful and loved home, and it's quite soothing, considering the fact that I may be dead in a few months…" I opened my eyes and looked up to Charlie. "I understand why your mother is at ease here more than anywhere else. And funnily enough, I was thinking about that yesterday, thinking if ever this world is ridden of evil, if ever I get married and have kids, I want a place like this, somewhere I can raise a wonderful family, where I can throw around gnomes and host family gatherings, weddings, all sorts of things…" I laughed quietly at that thought. "I want a place like this because it'll help me forget the darkness, and bring me back to a life where I can love and be loved in return."

I hadn't realized that he was staring at me with wide eyes. I blinked and cleared my throat.

"I know it doesn't sound like something I would do, but deep down, I know there's a life after this war, and I know that I want it with all the love and happiness there is…" I pinched my lips in confusion. "I know this sounds outwardly stupid, but I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe in hope. I honestly think that this is not the end. I'm not saying we will come out of this war untouched, the probabilities of _that_ happening are about one in a million…"

I was about to continue, but he caught me off guard, and grabbed my neck and closed in for a deep kiss. I froze momentarily, but soon I was kissing him back, my hands around his neck, holding him closer. But too soon, he let go.

"How come you've popped in my life so randomly?" he asked, holding my face in his hands.

I tried finding a good answer for that, but wasn't able to find anything coherent to say after a whole minute.

"I admire you for being so selfless, Julia."

I frowned, suddenly confused. _Me, selfless? No way._

"Ehh… meaning?" I said, unsure.

He smiled sweetly. "You've quit the Auror training because you didn't like it, you didn't like the feel of fighting. Yet, we find you in the most unlikely of places: part of a secret Order built to fight the dark arts and individuals of this world. You're doing the opposite of what you wanted, simply to help and save those you love. That's quite selfless, if you ask me."

Oh. Well if you put it _that _way…

"I did what I had to do," I mumbled. I normally didn't feel intimidated at all by Charlie, but the way he spoke about me, how he touched my vulnerability with his words completely threw me off, leaving me more than confused. "You're pretty selfless yourself," I added.

He snorted a laugh. "I've been on this mission only because it left me feeling like I was actually doing something good for the Order. It's anything but selfless, I can assure you."

I smiled encouragingly. "Well at least you've got a goal. You have something that's driving you to do it, to be the best and uncover what the others could not. It's merely you trying to show how good you are, to prove yourself. I bet your family would never have expected you to be anything but a dragon tamer, right?"

He nodded, looking rather baffled by my reasoning.

"So what if you're doing this to prove them wrong?" I continued. "You have amazing skills, why not put them to good use?"

He laughed out loud this time. "Are you sure you're not doing this speech for yourself?"

I shook my head, annoyed. "No, I'm not! I'm doing this because I owe a lot to McGonagall, it's a favour she has asked of me. I'm not doing this for glory or to prove others wrong. I'm doing this so I can protect my family better when I'll see them again." I looked at him with eagerness. "We have different goals, but that doesn't mean can't make it work as a team. I have to admit I was pissed off that you swept in and took away my mission-"

"I didn't mean to."

"Damage is done," I retorted, barely listening. "But then I thought it over, and I realized that I would be better off with someone who had the skills and experience of dangerous missions such as these. So my main point is-" I said, seeing he was about to interrupt, "I'm sorry I've been so hard on you, and… I'm really glad that I get to work with you."

He chuckled. ''Is that an actual apology?''

I frowned, trying hard not to smack him. ''Do you need me on my knees as well, perhaps?''

He laughed, kissing me on my forehead. ''No. Certainly not.''

I was about to reply to that, but we were discreetly interrupted as Bill knocked at my door.

''Charlie, a word, please?''

He got up swiftly and followed his brother up to his room, but I had had enough of being left out in the dark, and followed quietly, making sure they hadn't seen me. Bill had left his door slightly open, so I stood there, listening.

''... McGonagall gave me the news earlier, but I can't bring myself to tell her, if she knew, she'd be devastated,'' Bill was saying.

I edged closer, wondering who they were talking about. There was a long silence.

''Are you sure?'' Charlie whispered, his face crestfallen.

''Yes, McGonagall had him as a student as well. She doesn't forget a face.''

''Bloody hell... how did it happen?''Charlie asked, his voice strained.

''Said he was blasted off by a Death Eater, Dolohov, I think, when they were found hiding. They were about to take away his mother, saying she had to go down to the Ministry for testing. She was Muggleborn, I think.''

My blood froze.

''When did this happen?''

''Yesterday, in south of England. His father escaped with his wife after the attack, and I bet they haven't sent any word to her, scared they'd be found again,'' Bill finished, bowing down his head with grief.

Both were now speechless. I was contemplating on opening the door and demanding explanations, but I couldn't move by sheer fear of the truth.

''Are you going to tell her?'' Bill asked softly.

Charlie nodded. ''I'll try. But how am I supposed to tell her that her brother is dead?''

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A/N: This chapter is the longest that I've done so far, and I did that simply because I'm starting uni and I won't have much time to update until Christmas. But I've already started the next chapter, so it shouldn't be too long before you see another update. :D

That green button there is tempting, isn't it? :P


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: AHHHHHHHHH YESSSSSS! I figure this would be the general reaction? Well... I hope so lol. It's an utter miracle I managed to update, considering the amount of work I've been through and many crazy events in my oh-so-simple life. I've finally found some quiet time to put down the ongoing adventure of our two wizards. So here's an IMPORTANT update because this chapter is a turn-around on many levels. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: -chanting- Don't own, don't sue! Don't own, don't sue! Don't own, don't sue!

_''It's the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.'' - Albus Dumbledore_

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My skin was ice cold... lifeless.

I could feel the blood in my veins drying out; evaporated by a pain too great to hold in. I took a step back, gasping for air, as I realized I had been holding in my breath the entire time. They kept on whispering, too deep in their conversation to have heard me. I blinked, keeping the tears at bay, trying to get control over my breathing. And without thinking, I disappeared down the corridor, and into my room. I started packing. I didn't have time to think anything through, the only thing that mattered to me was to find my family and see them safe. I knew it was stupid of me, but I couldn't let any harm come to them, and I wanted to make sure that the boy they were talking about was not my brother.

It could not be Oliver.

My hands were shaking as I put all my clothes in my suitcase. My mind was racing, trying to think of a logical way to explain things. Rage shot through me as I realized there was nothing I could do. Anger filled my heart, making my lungs searching desperately for air. I tried to stop from shaking, but my body had taken over. I wasn't in control, and my breathing became quicker, raspier, trying to keep the oxygen coming in. I let go of my restraint and fell to the floor, holding to the bed frame for support. Images of Oliver's face came to mind, but a white stricken face, one of death. I heard a faint laugh, a snickering, and saw a hooded figure walking away. My whole body was convulsing, unable to bear the pain. I closed my eyes, feeling sick to my stomach. I could not let the grief engulf me; I could not let it take over.

At that moment, I heard footsteps. I tried calming down, but it was no use, my face was marked by unstopping tears and my sobs were giving me a hard time to breathe properly. I could not hide nor make it go away. The footsteps stopped at my door, silently waiting.

''Julia?''

My mind went to my parents, who had seen his death, who had seen him disappear from this world. I gasped, feeling their pain vividly as a new wave of tears fell down my cheeks. Charlie heard me. He walked to the other side of the bed, his face anxious.

''Julia, are you al-''

He stopped dead at the sight of me. I looked up to him with my puffy eyes, my body still heavily shaking.

''I heard you,'' I managed to say between two sobs.

He didn't respond, but simply came to me, picked me up from the floor, and lay on the bed with me, in his arms. He held me tight, and I knew he was trying to get rid of the shaking, to soothe me down. His fingers erased some of the tears, and gently caressed my face, and as every minute passed, I slowly calmed down. I was still trying to get my breath even, and his presence brought me comfort.

o.O.o

I don't know how long we stayed huddled up together; I think a few hours passed before he ushered an actual word.

''You want to tell me something about him?'' he whispered, as I opened my eyes, taking in his expression.

I sighed, snuggling closer to him for warmth.

''Not now.''

I felt him hesitate, as if he knew I needed to talk, but was too stubborn to actually do so.

''Okay.''

It was almost time for dinner, as I acknowledged the sunset from the window.

''Is your mum waiting on us for supper?'' I asked quietly, feeling the drowsiness engulf him.

''Don't worry about that,'' he said, pushing back a strand of hair from my face.

''Does everyone know?''

My question wasn't because I wanted a specific answer of whom or how much they knew, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't alone in this.

He tenderly kissed my forehead. ''Yes.''

A long silence followed, as his eyes slowly closing. I thought through of my situation. I figured it was best for me to get something to eat, and I knew Mrs. Weasley would be glad to take care of me in that department.

I slowly got out of bed, leaving Charlie to sleep. He looked peaceful and I hated waking up people, so I quietly left the room. I made my way downstairs slowly, and finally got to the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley was finishing up the dishes. She turned around to see me unable to take a seat. I just stood there, at a loss of words to express myself. She smiled kindly at me and came to give me a heartfelt hug.

''Are you hungry, dear?'' she asked, rubbing my shoulders friskily, just like my own mother would have done.

I nodded, and she led me to a chair near the sink where she was, silently continuing her dishes as she flicked her wand to heat up a leftover plate. I felt grateful for it, because I didn't know what to do nor what to say, and she gave me the space I needed.

While she excused herself for a few minutes to get the laundry, I ate one bite at a time meticulously, as if purposely trying to slow down time itself. If only I knew how...

I observed the kitchen. I felt at home here, a sentiment I hadn't felt in a while. Having Mrs. Weasley here acting motherly to me made the whole difference. The Burrow wouldn't be the same without her. It wouldn't exist without her. And I thought to what I had said to Charlie. What if this war could really be over? I could finally build a life I always wanted. I would not lose those I loved, and more importantly, I would be able to be at peace with Oliver gone.

An intense numbness had washed over me, my body reacting the complete opposite of a few hours earlier. I was deep into thoughts when Molly came back, her face crestfallen. I hadn't realized she had been back, and it took me a few minutes to see her. My eyes levelled to hers.

''Where's everyone?'' I asked with a strained voice.

She waved it aside as non-important. ''Oh emergency meeting, they'll be back later.''

I wasn't even feeling like arguing with her on that matter, and simply shrugged, leaving aside the fact that the meeting was probably about me and my right state of mind.

''Alright,'' I said, getting up. I brought my dish to the counter and left the room, ignoring Molly's concerned stare.

''Can you send Charlie down for me, please?'' she asked as I walked up the stairs.

''Sure thing,'' I answered weakly, even though she wouldn't be able to hear me.

When I got to my room, Charlie was still lying in bed, sound asleep. I growled internally, I didn't like waking up people. I went back with him, snuggling closely, and waited. He moved and turned a bit, and when he felt my presence, somehow his arm embraced me.

''Charlie,'' I whispered, caressing his beautiful face.

He made an inaudible sound and held me closer to him. I frowned. How can you be completely out of it and still act as if you were well-awake? I tried again.

''Charlie?'' I whispered closer to his ear.

He grunted, as if answering me. I pinched my lips in total disarray. I didn't want to poke him or push him- he'd probably fall off the bed, which wouldn't help be in his good graces in our mission. I shook his arm a bit, but he lay motionless.

''Charlie, wake up,'' I whispered, my voice getting weaker.

I knew what was left to do. I closed in the space between us, and my lips reached for his. It didn't take long before his eyes opened drowsily.

''How are you feeling?'' he asked, returning the soft kiss with ease.

''I miss him,'' I said, trying to kick away the painful feeling at the pit of my stomach.

He looked at me in silence, before ushering words I didn't want to hear.

''I'm so sorry.''

I fought the tears.

''Don't be,'' I said, my voice quivering. ''Nobody could stop it from happening...''

''We could have given them shelter here for a while,'' he replied, saddened.

''They left without telling me where they were going,'' I whispered. ''All I knew was that my brother wanted me to join them soon...'' I felt a pang as I suddenly realize. ''I never got the chance to say goodbye,'' I whimpered, as Charlie hugged me closer. ''If only I had been there, I would have protected him, I would have saved him, and I would have killed that Death Eater...'' A new feeling was flowing through my veins. ''Who was it again, Charlie? Who did this to my brother?'' I asked, my heart pumping fast.

He looked weary of telling me. ''Julia, it's better if you don't think about that. Instead, we'll arrange for you to find your parents...''

''No.''

I was shocked by my own harshness. He raised his brows, waiting for me to elaborate and make a case for myself.

''I don't want you to protect me by keeping me away from a vengeful rant- I'm telling you I'm not that way. I know he'll pay for his actions; that, I can be assured of. By whom? I don't know. Like the saying goes, what comes around goes around... he'll get even with death.''

This didn't sound enlightened at all, but I didn't want him to think I was plotting a huge revenge of some sort, even though it was incredibly tempting... I wouldn't allow myself to go that far. I wouldn't let vengefulness take over and ruin everything. I know I'd find my parents, in time, I would. And in time, I would be able to give my brother a proper funeral.

''Who did it, Charlie?'' I asked again.

He gave me a look that clearly said he wasn't agreeing with me.

''Dolohov.''

I frowned. ''He broke out of Azkaban, didn't he?''

He nodded. ''Yes, two years ago, when Dumbledore announced that You-Know-Who was back.''

''Is he close to the Dark Lord?''

''Not as much as Bellatrix, but yes, he is one of his loyal followers.''

''Right.''

Anger had built up, and I tried containing it best I could.

''Do you know where he is now?''

He sighed, knowing where I was going with this.

''A member of the Order has an eye on him.''

I opened my mouth to reply, but by the look on his face, I better had stop the interrogation now.

''Julia... do you still want to go on this mission? You can stay behind if you want,'' he said carefully.

I shook my head vehemently. ''Of course I want to; this will be perfect to take my mind off things.''

He didn't look convinced.

''I keep my promises,'' I said, dumbstruck that he didn't believe me.

''Pack up, then. We are leaving tomorrow.''

He got up to leave.

''But-''

He was gone.

Frustration was still a the pit of my stomach as I did what he ordered, but any feeling evaporated as I fell on a silver necklace at the bottom of my luggage, neatly wrapped in a red satin pouch. My hands slightly shaking, I took it out; memories flooding my head live a rushing wave...

''_Oi! What's taking you so long? I've been waiting an hour!'' screamed Oliver from down the stairs._

''_Just a MINUTE!'' I replied, my voice shrill. _

_It was my last day of school, and an incredible amount of food was waiting for us in the Great Hall. I had some last packing to do, as my brother edged me to hurry up. _

''_Honestly, Julia- just let the houselves finish for you and come downstairs! I'm famished!'' _

_I grumpily stacked my last pair of earrings in my luggage before zipping it up tight, grabbing my wand and heading out the girl's dormitory. Oliver was waiting next to the door, arms crossed, brows frowned. _

''_Could you be any slower?'' he said, as I walked past him, exiting the Common room. _

_I ignored his comment, going down a flight of stairs gracefully. He followed swiftly, having a hard timekeeping up with my long strides. We finally entered the Great Hall, and I went to sit directly with my fellow Ravenclaws as he grumpily went to the other end of the table with the fifth years. _

_Dumbledore made a very good speech, wishing us good luck in our future careers, and I saw for the corner of my eye McGonagall, who I had been a favourite of ever since I had entered the school, winking at me with a wide smile. The graduation ceremony followed, and too soon enough, we were heading for the train station. My brother had decided to bid me farewell- he was staying a few more days in Hogsmeade where one if his friends lived._

_My friends were starting to board, and I quickly followed, wanting to get away from my annoying brother as soon as possible. I was stopped by him before I could even put one foot on the train. __He took me aside, looking suddenly childish._

''_I eh... I wanted to congratulate you on finishing Hogwarts...'' he started, fingering a small package in his hands. _

_I frowned, waiting for some sort of joke on his part. It was most unlikely of him saying something nice to me. _

''_I got this for you...'' he mumbled, handing me a package. I unwrapped wearily, wondering if a frog would jump in my face. Even his abnormal behaviour wasn't throwing me off. I knew better. _

_The wrappings were on the ground, and I stared with wide eyes at the object in my hands. A beautifully crafted silver heart with a fiery ruby orb in the middle dangled from the chain I was holding. I looked up to my brother, but he was gone. I scanned the hoard of students and finally spotted Oliver quite far away, getting back on a carriage. I took another look at the necklace, and saw with amazement in the middle of the ruby orb a conserved flower- my favourite kind, a lily. I blinked, astonished, and looked back up to where he was sitting silently on the carriage. He waved with a hint of a smile. _

''_Julia, the train is leaving! GET ON!'' my friend Marietta screamed from a window. _

_I put the necklace in my pocket, and waved back to my brother, whose carriage had started moving towards the forest. He hadn't seen me, and with a last glance at him, I jumped on board, leaving behind Hogwarts for the last time._

* * *

A/N: yes yes a big update, I was feeling quite generous today :D This is the only update I will do until Christmas (I was lucky to have 2 nights off in a row with no studying!) As usual, leave a comment or critic on your way out; those are an author's best friend!

Toodles!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Well here it is, as promised! I've worked on this in the spare time I had over the holidays, which was very little, but I did my best to keep my word.

**Disclaimer:** Will never own in a million years. But happy reading!

_"I realised I can't shut myself away or crack up. It could be me next, couldn't it? But if it is, I'll make sure I take as many Death Eaters with me as I can and Voldemort too, if I can manage it." – Harry Potter_

* * *

The rest of the evening had gone by quickly, until the rest of the family came back; Arthur, Bill and Fleur, along with McGonagall. Kingsley had left the night before. I heard them downstairs, whispering and moving things around. I had finished packing, and knew I had to see everyone before leaving so I went downstairs straight away. As I stepped into the living room, silence met me with a surprising chill.

''Hello Julia,'' Bill said, after seeing my rising panic. ''How are you feeling?'' he asked, walking the remaining distance between us and taking me in his arms for a tight hug. ''I'm really sorry,'' he whispered in my ear.

I nodded, thanking him. I looked up, to see Arthur giving me a saddened smile.

''We are very sorry to hear about your brother,'' he said.

I waved a hand in weak dismissal.

''Thank you, but it's alright.''

''Dear, we know you are grieving, and you're welcome to stay as long as you want,'' Molly chipped in, coming from behind me.

My eyes scanned the room, and saw that Charlie wasn't there.

''Oh right,'' I realized, ''Charlie hasn't told you?''

''Told us what, dear?'' Molly asked, glancing at her husband.

''I'm still going on this mission.''

They all stared at me, but before anything further was said, Charlie came in, with a very worried McGonagall. As soon as she saw me, she almost broke into tears, embracing me tightly.

''Oh Julia, I'm so sorry! I checked at least a dozen times, I didn't want to believe it myself...'' she said, holding my face in her hands. ''I can promise you no harm will come to your sister. I swear on my life.''

I nodded, holding in the tears myself. I forgot she had been the one to get the news first. I managed to smile, and hugged her, thanking her.

''You did the best you could, Minerva,'' I said, as Charlie, who was standing next to me, handed me a tissue.

''Suchz a _terrible_ tragedee,'' Fleur chipped in, her eyes meeting mine with deep understanding. I nodded, acknowledging her sympathies.

''Are you sure you are feeling well enough to leave?'' Molly asked, her worried eyes analyzing me from head to toe just like my mother would.

''I think it's what I need,'' I said, giving a smile to Charlie, who winked in turn.

''Right,'' she said, unable to find a good excuse to keep me.

''So you are leaving today, then?'' Bill asked.

''That's what is planned, yes,'' Charlie answered, seriousness covering his features.

Bill nodded. ''Heading north, I presume?''

Charlie sighed, knowing what his brother meant, which I couldn't possibly understand. ''We'll go east, then head north, depending on what we encounter during our journey.''

Arthur and Molly quietly left the room, as McGonagall kissed me goodbye. Fleur excused herself to do some sorting through her own wardrobe, and we were left alone with Bill.

Charlie frowned at his brother, as if they could read each other's minds.

''Bill... I'd rather not risk it,'' he said, regretfully.

I looked from one to the other, and suddenly realized what was so edgy between the two.

''You can't tell him anything because we're sworn to secrecy by the Order?'' I asked, to clear up the questions in my mind.

Both nodded, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. They, who shared everything together, now, were unable to.

''If ever Death Eaters catch you...'' Charlie went on, heaving a great sigh.

Bill shook his head. ''Don't do that to yourself. We are at war, and secrets must be made. It's only a small sacrifice to save one another.''

They stared at each other until I broke the silence, ushering Charlie to come upstairs with me. We needed to talk about what was going to happen. Sadly, time ran out before he could tell me anything pertinent, as we were constantly interrupted by everyone in the house.

At one point, Arthur came in, and I knew he had purposely waited for Charlie to leave me alone two minutes to dive in for a private conversation. He looked mightily uncomfortable as he closed the door behind him.

''Julia, there's something we need to speak about,'' he said, rearranging his glasses properly on his nose.

My brows rose, questioning, waiting.

''Well, I wanted to make sure you weren't making these decisions for the wrong reasons,'' he said, sighing.

I knew immediately Molly had put him up to this. I was tempted to stop him from going any further, but I knew he had his own say in it, so I merely kept quiet.

''I know you and Charlie are sort of... an item,'' he continued.

''So it would seem,'' I said in an undertone.

He cleared his throat. ''Yes, well, you've just lost your brother, and I wouldn't want you to... throw yourself into this mission, into something you're not ready in the vain hope that you can follow my son.''

I hadn't thought of it this way, but for them, Molly and Arthur, it was surely something to seriously contemplate, for my well-being... or for whatever else they thought.

''I understand your worry and uneasiness on this matter, but I can happily tell you I'm not doing this to be with Charlie,'' I said brightly.

He frowned as my words were taken in.

''Do you not... like Charlie?'' he asked, as I held in a laugh.

''Oh I like Charlie quite a lot, Mr. Weasley,'' I responded with great certainty. ''I care very much about him- but really, this mission is for an entirely different reason, and you don't need to worry about it.''

He cleared his throat once again.

''Right, well... I'll take your word for it.''

I smiled at him, knowing he only meant well in his actions. He excused himself as Molly was loudly calling his name throughout the house for help. As he exited, I unconsciously thought of my own father, and everything shifted.

_Where were they? Had they been hurt? Were they both... alive? _

These questions constantly blurred my mind, and I felt my heart emptying as I remembered how I missed them, and how I wished they were safe, far away from any harm. I soon had to eradicate these thoughts as Charlie came back, meaning for us to leave.

We finally departed under the shadow of night, leaving me with a stone at the pit of my stomach as we left behind the Burrow. Molly had been waving all the way until we had disappeared from her view; she had shed a few tears, as Arthur had gently patted her arm. Bill and Fleur had wished us luck; they were leaving as well to go back to Shell Cottage where they lived. Bill had a different disapparating point, so our goodbyes were swift.

In the last few hours I had grown to appreciate Fleur's presence. She had spoken to me earlier about the death of her younger brother, back in France, when she was a child. It had been an accident, but she had been grief stricken for years and had never opened up about it, until she saw my own distress, and understood far too well how I felt. A certain peace of mind has engulfed me since then, but it didn't take the anxiety away from what I was going to do for the next few months.

We reached the top of the hill where our disapparating point was situated, and I hesitated as Charlie drew out his arm to me. It was suddenly too quick, too sudden, and for a split second, I thought of walking back to the Burrow. He smiled.

''I'm with you now, Julia,'' he whispered. ''Take my hand.''

I took a deep breath, dreading the side-along apparition. Then, I grabbed his arm tightly, and we both disappeared in a swirl of dark colors.

o.O.o

The next two weeks had been gruelling hard for me, as Charlie tried to fill me in with how to proceed in pursuing Voldemort's followers. The Carrows were obviously under McGonagall's watch and the other professors at Hogwarts. Yaxley, who had become the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and aided Dolore Umbridge in leading the Muggle-Born Registration Commission at the Ministry, and Augustus Rookwood, who used to work in the Department of Mysteries, were both closely watched by Arthur and Kingsley. Bill, who was still working at Gringotts, had a close eye on Travers; he had seen him repeatedly over the past few months. Charlie informed me that many more Death Eaters were out in the open, most of them had escaped Azkaban in the mass breakout months earlier.

Up to now, only failed attempts were accomplished in our pursuit. We found shelter anywhere we could, from abandoned houses to tents to motels. The weather had gone down, and snow was making a daily appearance for a few hours, leaving a nice coat of white on the ground. We were equipped for that as well, but our nights were spent huddling close together to keep warm.

We had managed to follow one Death Eater for three days; Jugson, tall sneaky bloke, but he suddenly disappeared before we could get any further information on his next whereabouts. And ever since then, our route had gone cold. I was feeling quite desperate, I wanted to catch someone, it was itching my skin just the thought of it. Charlie was more patient, he constantly reminded me that our job was a long process and that we had to do one thing at a time. Obviously, he never thought further, of what could actually happen when we ended up face to face with a Death Eater for a fight between life and death.

We never spoke of that. More likely because we didn't want to think of it; I think it scared him as much as I to lose one another. We had grown to know each other well enough, some nights we fell asleep, and others, spent them whispering events of our past lives. The only thing I could rejoice myself of was that we would be going back to the Burrow very soon- Christmas was near.

o.O.o

On the eve of the very much celebrated winter holiday, Charlie and I were able to get back to his family safely. We had discussed our stay with very different opinions. I wanted to stay at least a few days, spend some time with Molly, who was constantly alone in the house- I knew she loved having people around. That argument didn't convince Charlie one bit, he was dead set on leaving the following day of Christmas. What followed was shortly lived- my tone rose and I reproached him what his mother had done for him all of his life and that his repayment was poor and dishonourable. He caved in after that, to say the least.

When we came in through the door, we were greeted by a highly enthusiastic Molly. From the corner of my eye, I could see Ginny lighting more candles in the sitting room, and I could hear cluttering in the kitchen- that could only mean Arthur, vainly trying to help out with tea. I didn't know who else would be there.

As Mrs. Weasley let go, I let out a gasp as something quite hard collided with me, cutting my breath short by a few seconds. I looked down to see a smiling face looking up at me with bright blue eyes. My eyes widened in shock.

''Hannah!''

''Hey sister,'' she said, hugging me tighter.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at her more closely, joy filling my lungs as to finally having her with me, erasing all my worries. We went to sit down in the living room to catch up, as Molly disappeared into the kitchen.

''So, have you heard from Mum and Dad?'' she asked, her voice hopeful.

I shook my head. ''Sorry sweetie, I've got nothing.''

I saw in the shadows of the room the tall figure of McGonagall, observing us with great content in her eyes, I could see the reflection they had in the candlelight.

''What about Oliver? Is he still with them?'' she continued.

My eyes stood still in growing shock, my skin losing its warmth. My smile had frozen. I thought she was probably kidding around.

''What do you mean about Oliver?'' I asked, on edge, shooting a look of utter confusion at McGonagall.

''Well, I knew he had left with them to hide, but you know how he is with his plans to fight for greater good and all... he never got over the fact he never made it through the Auror training,'' she said, shrugging.

My voice lost its life. She knew nothing. McGonagall had kept her in the dark. My own sister was oblivious to her brother's death. The thought of telling her was beyond my willpower of the moment. I could not face the crumbling soul she would become. I knew her too well.

''Julia, are you alright?'' Hannah asked, as she realized my face had gone unnaturally pale.

McGonagall rushed in and quickly made up an excuse for me to escape the atmosphere.

''Your sister needs a bit of rest, dear,'' she said to Hannah. ''I'll put her to bed and you can catch up in a bit.''

She nodded, and I saw Ginny swooping in with a bright smile, dragging her to the big tree to show off the decorations. I fumbled up the stairs with McGonagall's help, and when we finally reached the first floor, I stood up on my feet, breathing with uneasiness.

''You didn't tell her?'' I asked, glancing down the stairs.

McGonagall closed her eyes, shaking her head.

''I'm sorry,'' she said, her voice barely a whisper. ''I couldn't bring myself to tell her. She was so excited when I told her she was going to be spending Christmas with you...''

''I understand. It has to be me to break the news,'' I said, keeping the grief at bay.

''She will grieve just as you did,'' she said soothingly. ''Time heals all wounds, my dear.'' She patted my cheek gently, almost motherly, and headed for the stairs. I watched her disappear into the kitchen. I slowly walked to my room, thinking hazily.

''Time heals all wounds,'' I whispered to myself.

Only time could tell.

* * *

A/N: Happy New Year (late)! I should have uploaded this many days ago, but unfortunately I forgot... Oops.

I need to state something; it's been bugging me for months now. The scene in the movie the Half Blood Prince, where Bellatrix comes to the Burrow, and it ends up in flames... that is the dumbest idea a director ever had in the history making of Harry Potter films. It's been annoying me because the Burrow represents so much more for everyone, it's not just a house; it's worth more than all the diamonds in the world for these people. It was a brainless decision and the Burrow will never end up in flames, as far as I know. Phew, it's off my chest now.

Reviiiiews, I love 'em! :D


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** So sorry for being so late updating! I know a lot of you have been waiting for this for quite some time, and I promise there's a lot more to come, so don't give up hope! I'm just super busy this summer with work, but will definitely update more chapters before my semester starts!

**P.S.** I'm sad to see there are so many alerts, but so few reviews! If you like my story; let me know. I appreciate constructive comments, or any few words you can share. As a writer, I truly appreciate feedback.

**Disclaimer:** Nay own, nay sue.

_"You said to us once before," she said quietly, "that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we?" – Hermione Granger_

* * *

It would have been stupid of me to have prolonged the bad news. It would also have been stupid of me to announce such news on Christmas Eve. Either way, I was stuck keeping the news at bay, for now. I could barely let myself say out loud the death of my brother, so announcing it to my own sister would be as difficult as her hearing it. I couldn't predict her reaction, but from growing up with her, I could have a general idea- and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Apart from this constant worry at the back of my head, I had to switch my mind to more upbeat things, such as Christmas gifts. I sadly hadn't had any time to get gifts for everyone; neither did Charlie, as we had been mostly worried by our safe return home. I had an old cloak that Hannah was constantly stealing from me because I knew she secretly liked it, so I was intending on giving it to her. And it was already hard enough not being with our parents on Christmas; so not having much to give was an all time low... The important thing was that we were all alive and well, and that's all that mattered.

It felt nice to be surrounded by people who cared about us and I was glad my sister was with me, even though there was so much more waiting for us in the upcoming weeks. I knew all too well the tension at Hogwarts and I couldn't wait for it all to be over. I hated to have Hannah so far from me, I was constantly scared the Carrows would do something and it filled my mind with worries every day. I trusted McGonagall though, so I tried not to think too much of it.

''Julia?''

My head snapped up as I saw a figure coming up the stairs towards me.

''Are you alright?'' Charlie asked, cupping my cheeks in his hands, a hint of worry in his eyes. ''McGonagall told me you were in quite a state...''

Barely a shadow of a smile appeared on my face as I looked up to him. I felt rather desperate to get rid of my fearful thoughts of the future coming our way.

''I'm fine,'' I said, my voice scarcely audible. ''I have a lot of thinking to do, that's all.''

''A girl saying she's fine is the fattest lie in Britain,'' he said, giving me an encouraging smile. ''Tell me what's bothering you...'' he asked gently. ''I might be able to help.''

''I'm worried for my sister,'' I said with a sigh.

He frowned slightly. ''Why would you be? She's here, safe and very much alive and happy and she is-''

I put up a finger to stop him from going any further.

''She doesn't know.''

It was striking how a feeling of unknown pain could bother you. The unknown pain that you knew someone else would feel, sooner than later.

His frown deepened. ''She doesn't know what?''

I closed my eyes, trying to hide away from the truth I was to tell Hannah; the horrible, painful truth.

''Oliver,'' I said breathless. ''She doesn't know about Oliver.''

His mouth made an understandable O.

''Are you going to tell her tonight?'' he asked, his eyes glancing down the stairs, just in case.

''No, I don't want to ruin the evening for everyone,'' I said, massaging my forehead.

He made a saddened face as he saw how depressed I was at the thought of accomplishing such a task.

''Julia, tell her in your own time. You barely had the chance to grieve...''

''It happened weeks ago, Charlie,'' I retorted. ''I should be able to have some self-control by now. Hannah should know. I was sure McGonagall had told her...''

''Give yourself some time to figure it out,'' he said, kissing my forehead, cutting me off from any further attempts to put myself down. ''Now, you better come down, my mother is having a rightful fit in thinking you've been malnourished while we were away...''

With an attempt to smile, I followed him wordlessly as he dragged me down into the sitting room. There, two new red headed young men were present, and I immediately knew them to be the famous Weasley twins. Tricky part was to know who was who.

''Hiya,'' I said as I came in, waving.

''Isn't that the lovely, well-accomplished Julia Conelly we heard so much about?'' boomed one of the twin's, whirling around to greet me with a handshake and a wink.

''I'm guessing this is Julia, Charlie's stunning girlfriend!'' exclaimed the other one, shaking my hand in turn.

''I'm Fred, and this is George,'' the one on the right said with a smile. ''You can't really tell who's who, apart from the giant hole in George's ear. He's not deaf, but now he's got a good reason to use the Muggle sign language, we've been practicing...''

Both of them grinned at each other; apparently I was missing out on a good joke.

Charlie had told me of what had happened the night they went to get Harry Potter out of his Muggle home, and to be honest, it was quite scary to see such an evident scar of the past event, right in my face. It was vivid and... troubling. I guess humour was the best way to go.

''Glad to finally meet you both,'' I said with a smile. Their good mood spread around the whole house. The atmosphere was calmer, cosier than before.

Fred had been showing us some of their new creations for their joke shop when I realized someone important was missing.

''Does anyone know where Bill is?''

George shrugged at me, seemingly unbothered. ''Oh he and Fleur wanted to spend their first Christmas alone, as newlyweds, you know.''

''Obviously, Mum didn't really fancy the idea, but they're not coming, so looking on the bright side- we get to eat more food!'' Fred chipped in cheeringly.

Ginny and Hannah were keeping themselves entertained by the gnome the twins had set up on top of the Christmas tree. They kept changing him into different garments, which sent the gnome into fits of anger, bringing hilarity to our crowd.

I hadn't seen Arthur yet, but I was guessing he was still at the Ministry, from the looks of the clock in the sitting room. I had barely seen Molly either, for she had been spending every waken second in the kitchen cooking for us. I knew something was bothering her but I rather waited to be told than pry and push her to tell what was on her mind.

The rest of the evening went rather smoothly, as we dined together, and exchanged the very few gifts there was. Molly has knitted me a sweater, and even though it was hideous, it was one of the best things I've received ever since I left home. It was made of a dark purple with my initials in bright yellow.

O

Later on, as the girls went up to bed, we gathered quietly in the living room to see how the Order of the Phoenix was dealing with its members.

''Death Eaters are becoming more demanding now, at the Ministry,'' Arthur said, as he had been back barely an hour before, his tired eyes looking at us with distinct worry. ''They press to see papers and arrest anyone suspicious enough and drag them to the Department of Mysteries... it's terrible.''

''Arthur has been under a lot of pressure to sell out anyone who isn't pure blood...'' Molly chipped in, her voice strained. ''And this is why our house isn't safe anymore. We'll be moving out soon to Aunt Muriel's, it's the last place they'll think we'll be.''

''It will be safer for the family to reach,'' continued Arthur, glancing at his younger sons. ''Bringing Ginny and Hannah here was quite a feat for McGonagall, but we all know she'd do it over again without a blink of an eye. She cares so much for Hogwarts...''

''As we all do,'' I said, raising an eyebrow. ''A lot of students there are unsafe, it isn't just my sister. The Carrows are implementing a cruel regime on the school grounds and the students are scared.''

''Yes, we are aware of that, Julia,'' Arthur began, ''but what is troubling is to see the growing deaths of Muggle families all across Britain. If we fight back, they'll track us down, and the Order isn't what it used to be... we are not enough to fight off You-Know-Who's entire army.''

''I thought the Order was a message of hope to all wizards around the world!'' I said, standing up from the couch I had been sitting on. ''Dumbledore made this secret order to fight off dark magic and I'll be damned if I give up now!''

''Julia...'' I heard Charlie whisper down next to me.

''Listen, I just lost my brother, and I might lose my entire family; by the looks of things... so I'm sorry if I seem pushy, but I am fighting them till my last breath.''

A long silence followed my statement. I knew deep down they all felt the same way, but they were scared, just as much as I was. These were uncertain and dangerous times, and ever since the name of Voldemort had been tabooed, fear was definitely an emerging trait in most people.

''This is war Julia,'' Charlie finally said. ''Rash decisions have no place here.''

''Julia's right,'' Fred said firmly, getting up in turn, swiftly followed by his twin. 'We have to fight them off in any way possible, make their anarchy crumble!''

''We have to let the world know that some people are still fighting!'' George added with a twinkle in his eye.

''Let them know we're kicking some arse out there!'' Fred finished with a conspicuous smile to his brother.

Molly got up with her hands on her hips, a stern look dominating her expression.

''Off to bed, the lot of you!''

''But Mum, we have this great idea...'' George said lamely, but she raised a finger to silence him.

''I want you both to stay out of trouble. Whatever you are thinking of, forget it.''

''Goodnight everyone,'' they said in unison, heading for the stairs.

''I think we'll call it a night,'' Charlie added, pushing me to follow his brothers.

As we headed up the stairs, we heard them whisper further up. As we got closer, they had stopped at the top, talking to one another with obvious excitement.

''This would work if we get a noticeable amount of listeners...''

''Lee Jordan might be interested, he has more time than we do...''

''We'll call it _Potterwatch_. Death Eaters will go mad to figure this one out...''

They laughed cheerily as we passed in front of them.

''Ignore them,'' Charlie whispered as they winked at me.

''_I_ might be interested,'' I retorted, giving them a smile as we disappeared to Bill's vacant room. It was darker than Ginny's room as there were no large windows; only a small round window arched near the ceiling. It was painted of a dark burgundy and had likely never been intended to be decorated.

I looked curiously around, noticing he had pulled the two single beds he and his brother had together. I then realized he was going on about his brothers. I reluctantly zoned in to him again.

''...my brothers are geniuses, there's no doubt about that,'' Charlie said, approaching behind me as I looked outside the high window, unable to kill my curiosity. ''But they get into trouble... a lot more than you might think. I don't want them involving you in their crazy ideas.''

I smiled to myself, simply staring at the reflection of a part of the room behind me as his hands massaged my shoulders.

''You can't protect me forever Charlie,'' I said softly.

''I will as long as I can,'' he replied, untroubled. ''I want you safe, even though it's stupid to want something like that in times of war.''

''It's not stupid...'' I said, finally turning around to look at him straight in his eyes. ''You want me unharmed; that's alright to demand such a thing... but you can't guarantee it, and I can't blame you if things go wrong and I end up dead.''

He shook his head, visibly having an unwanted image come up, and I took his face in my hands, kissing him tenderly.

''Charlie, I'll stay with you, but let's not fret with the future, let's live our lives day by day.''

He kissed me back quietly, unable to form a coherent answer to my thinking.

''I don't want you to worry for me, okay?'' I finally whispered as he wrapped his arms around me protectively. ''I'm a grown woman, and a wizard, to top it off!'' I said with a laugh. He smiled back, but still didn't usher a word. I knew he had something on his mind, but I didn't push it.

We stood near the window, looking at the snow falling outside in silence. As minutes went by, I could hear less and less sounds coming from the house, and it grew much quieter than expected. I had heard Molly and Arthur walk up to their room on the fourth floor.

I finally turned to him in an effort to stay awake, as we were both tired from our journey.

''Charlie?''

''Mmmm?''

''Merry Christmas,'' I whispered, breathing with a sigh.

He opened his eyes and looked down at me, his mouth twitching into a smile.

''A merry Christmas to you, Julia.''

Our lips met briefly, but in that moment, having each other breathing next to the other was more than we could have hoped for. What would happen come morning?

Who knew.

* * *

**A/N:** To my loyal readers, I hope you enjoyed this chapter There's a lot of action coming up, so be prepared!

And to any new readers who have stumbled upon this story, I apologize in advance for my terrible updating skills.

And for everyone, please review or leave a comment below, because that truly gives an author the will to carry on and is very _very_ much appreciated.

Cheers!


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** I've been reading-searching-overthinking-analyzing a lot of the DH timeline lately and I know it seems quite slow, but there are huge gaping months in between the main events of the books [may I remind you all of the very long camping trip the trio did from forest to forest...] but Julia and Charlie have much more coming up their sleeves. You'll be glad.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own, henceforth you may not sue.

_The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with caution. – Albus Dumbledore._

* * *

January

Barely a few minutes ago, we had celebrated the New Year inside the Burrow with some butterbeer and lots of wine, but now our constant wishful thinking of better days was over.

I had managed to get away from the clutter of people in the kitchen - Tonks and Lupin had joined the party, but we sadly still had no news of Bill and Fleur. I understood their wish to be alone for the holidays, but in times like these, I felt there was an ulterior motive to their absence. Charlie thought I was being obsessively suspicious, but I knew deep down he agreed wholeheartedly with me on this one. His male ego made him act otherwise.

As I edged outside in the garden to get some fresh icy air and admire the falling snow, I looked up the moon; showing barely a quarter of its face. I pressed my cloak tight around me; it had gotten much colder since Christmas.

The evening had been wonderfully entertaining and lovely – Molly had made a grand diner and all you could have heard was laughter and loud voices booming across the rooms. We all knew we wouldn't be having this kind of gathering again for a very long time. Even though the atmosphere had been joyful, there was an anxiousness glooming over our heads; we all knew what was coming – war had already begun.

We heard so much news all over of the Dark Lord's terrible deeds across England and the rest of the world. There was also one constant hope: Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Molly had told us he had disappeared after Bill's wedding; he and her son Ron, along with their clever friend Hermione, had fled before being caught. I knew they had stayed hidden at the older headquarters in Grimmauld Place for almost a month, before disappearing into thin air.

I had seen the face of that Hermione girl back in September – she had been on the first page of the Daily Prophet, on a list of Muggle-borns wanted for interrogation. Of course, at the time, I didn't know who she was, but now that I knew so much about her, Harry and Ron, I felt incredibly closer to them. And only a few weeks ago, Arthur had heard rumours at the Ministry that they almost caught Harry Potter at Mr. Lovegood's house, creator of the Quibbler. Selwyn, one of the Death Eaters present, apparently saw him alive with Hermione before they disaperated in an explosion.

And now, not only did we have to move the Order's headquarters away to Charlie's aunt Muriel for lack of safety; but our days were filled with relentless vigilance ever since we got news that the Dark Lord's name was tabooed. It wasn't precisely difficult to follow since we never used it in the first place, but we knew for someone like Harry, whom we had no idea if he knew about the taboo or not, would find this a little more challenging. All we could hope for was that all three of them were hiding safely away.

There were also those gangs of Snatchers, they were called. Harry Potter obviously had a price on his head, and wizard and witches would gather together in hopes of catching him and getting their reward. I knew one person who was genuinely worried for Harry, and it was Ginny. She still loved him - you could see it in her eyes, but she was made strong, she knew better than to weep in her room every night. At least, from what Hannah would tell me; Ginny was a talented witch, just as all her brothers. I dared say I was curious to see her in action.

In the middle of all this thinking, I had noticed the door opening and closing behind me.

''Thoughtful?'' the voice asked, making me turn around in surprise. I wasn't expecting that person.

''Oh hello Ginny, didn't see you there,'' I said, taking a deep breath.

''I've a tendency to surprise people,'' she said with a twinkle in her eye.

''You needed some time alone?'' I asked, wondering why she had followed me outside. ''I can go back inside...''

She shook her head, taking a step further away from the door.

''Actually, I wanted to tell you something. I haven't had the time to properly be alone with you.''

I raised a brow, intrigued.

''Yes?''

''I'm very sorry for your brother,'' she said, her voice only a whisper.

I blinked a few times before managing a smile. ''Thank you, Ginny.''

She sighed, as if afflicted by loss herself. ''I heard the news from Charlie. I really am sorry Julia. I mean, I can barely imagine if that happened to me... I don't think I would be able to live through as bravely as you do,'' she finished with sadness.

''I appreciate it,'' I said, grateful of her concern.

''When will you tell Hannah?'' she said after a few seconds of silence.

I hesitated to answer, wondering how strange it was that she was aware of so much.

''I'm working on that.''

To my astonishment, she nodded in agreement. I was expecting a full grown rant, especially as she was my sister's friend.

''It must be hard for you to juggle with so much grief and pain, and to top it off, you have to share that with your sister,'' she said finally with deep understanding in her eyes. ''I know you've been holding this news back for a while... my advice; tell her your way. Don't wait for it to be done by someone else, by accident or not. I don't think that would be fair, for you and her.''

I pinched my lips together, wondering where in the world that girl got all that wisdom.

''I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Ginny.''

She hugged me quietly.

''I'm the youngest and most certainly inexperienced, but I know things are easier said than done.''

My eyes looked down to her with a mixture of wonder and curiosity.

''You've grown so much more than they give you credit for,'' I said in a whisper.

She laughed lightly, as if she'd heard that one a hundred times. ''They'll realize that with time. No one's in a hurry,'' she said, heading back slowly towards the door.

''You are an amazing young woman, Ginny. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise,'' I said, knowing she needed to hear that from someone else than her family.

She smiled at me before disappearing inside the warmth of the house. I sighed; I was now back to worrying for my sister. I knew I had to tell her. She was going back to Hogwarts very soon with Ginny; it would be better to be done with it now than later.

I was about to head back in myself when I felt a sudden chill run down my spine. I whirled around, wand at the ready. The garden was empty.

My eyes scanned the place, making sure I wasn't hallucinating things. I had a gut feeling something was there. Something or someone had eavesdropped on our conversation.

''Show yourself!'' I said, my voice edgier than expected.

The response I got was a complete silence.

I hesitated, wondering if I should alert others or take this one on my own. Considering the lack of immediate danger, I approached the nearby bushes and searched for a sign, a clue of some sort.

Then a sudden rustle was heard on the other side of the garden, and I whirled around and took off into a sprint.

''_Stupefy!_'' I shouted, trying to aim in the darkness.

My spell went through the bushes, but nothing happened. To my astonishment, I heard a loud grunt followed by distinct _pop!_ to which I knew what had just happened; the eavesdropper had vanished into thin air. Furious, I spun around and was about to go into the house when I collided with something quite solid.

''Oi!'' I muttered, looking up with annoyance.

Charlie looked at me curiously.

''Is there something wrong?''

''Yes! There is!'' I spat, my anger rising again. ''I managed to let an intruder escape! He was right there when I was talking to Ginny, and he disappeared before I could hex him!''

His wand was out before I could usher another word.

''Where did you see him?'' he asked, frowning with concern, his eyes dark as he scanned the garden.

''I didn't _see_ him, I _heard_ him,'' I corrected, as he walked over to some bushes, shuffling through with his wand.

''Where did you _hear_ him?'' he asked, his tone austere.

''Right over there,'' I pointed, wondering what else there could be done, as the intruder had left without a trace.

''Do you know anyone that could possibly be trying to find you? Someone who could be spying on you, or trying to kill you?''

I frowned at him with a miffed expression.

''Oh I don't know, only the common Death Eater that comes by for tea... who do you think?'' I retorted with murky eyes.

He didn't answer. Instead, he gave another glance around him, before pushing me inside.

''I better tell the Order about this,'' he said gravely as we took off our cloaks. ''The spells around the house are getting easier to get through. I think they'll be moving a lot sooner to aunt Muriel's...''

I followed him quietly to the sitting room, where Tonks was entertaining the girls with a lot of colourful faces.

''Have you seen Remus?'' he asked in their direction. Nymphadora nodded, pointing upstairs.

''He's with your parents. He should be down any minute.''

Charlie glanced at me with the briefest of smiles, before taking my hand and dragging us into the kitchen.

''We are leaving tonight,'' he said, the minute the door closed behind us.

''What?' I said, alarmed. ''Why now? Don't tell me it's because of this...''

''It's precisely because of that,'' he said, his tone clearly meaning the conversation was not disputable.

''Charlie, we had planned to leave tomorrow night for safety reasons,'' I replied, irritated. ''I don't take kindly to rash decisions...''

''Look who's talking,'' he muttered, obviously not in an amiable mood.

''We are in this together Charlie,'' I said more smoothly, ignoring his comment. ''We are a team and I don't want you to change your mind whenever you fancy it. We can't disrupt the meticulous plans we've made and you can't decide something without asking for my consent.''

He stared at me in silence, observing my expression cautiously.

''We've embarked into a mission that can't always be planned, Julia,'' he finally ushered with a sigh. ''Sometimes, plans have to be aborted in order for things to unveil.''

''I'm painfully aware that you are much more experience than I am in this department,'' I replied tactfully, ''but having it your way whenever you want is not going to work with me.''

He didn't answer, but gave me a very long look. I crossed my arms, waiting.

''What if we paid a wee visit to Bill?'' he suggested, arching an eyebrow.

''Don't try to lure me into something I was already suspicious about,'' I said with a scowl. ''We are not going to Bill's, nor are we leaving tonight.''

''Alright.''

''What?''

''Alright, we won't go.''

I waited, wondering if he was kidding or not.

''Just like that, you've changed your mind?'' I said doubtfully.

''I'm not here to fight you,'' he said, hiding a smile. 'We'll leave tomorrow as planned.''

''You are a bloody stubborn man, Charlie Weasley,'' I said with a laugh.

''Not as much as-''

The kitchen door burst open as Lupin appeared, obviously distressed by some news.

''Charlie! Julia-''

I turned around at the same time as Molly and Arthur appeared in the doorway.

''There's a gang of Snatchers outside the village,'' Arthur informed us. ''Apparently they've been causing one hell of a racket, our neighbour just sent us an owl...''

''Have they hurt anyone?'' I asked, eyeing the darkness outside the window.

''No, not yet, anyway,'' Remus chipped in.

Arthur gave a long unreadable look to Charlie, who simply nodded in turn. He then turned to me, his eyes already pleading for forgiveness.

''Sorry Julia, I'll have to break our plans. We are leaving tonight.''

''So we can follow Snatchers? What use are they to us?'' I retorted with exasperation. ''Aren't they the lot of idiots running around trying to find Harry just for money? What could they _possibly_ have that could help us?''

''Information,'' Arthur said, making me look at him in surprise. ''If you can coarse them to cooperate, you'll find that they know a lot more than you think.''

''Be careful, some of them might have run into Death Eaters,'' Remus added, our cloaks in his hands, handing them to us.

''Your bags are by the door,'' Molly said with a careful voice. ''Don't forget them.''

An echo of a loud explosion was heard. I saw a bright light through the window. It was near the village, over the hill, not even a mile away.

''Christ, they're moving fast,'' Charlie muttered, dragging us past the others and towards the front door.

I quickly looked into the sitting room, wanting to say my goodbyes to Hannah. Charlie flicked his wand at the bags, making them small enough to put into our pockets. I finally saw Ginny immerge, followed by Tonks and Hannah.

''What's going on?'' Ginny asked, looking anxiously at her parents.

''There's some trouble with Snatchers not far from here...'' I started, but Charlie was already dragging me outside. I had a haunch this was more than just going on a little trip on the other side of the village. We were leaving for good this time. ''Charlie, wait!'' I yelled, trying to pry away from his powerful grip on my arm.

Hannah saw my panicked expression and she realized what that meant. She ran like mad towards me but Charlie was quicker.

''HANNAH!'' I screamed, but my voice soon evaporated as I felt myself disappearing.

In a swirl of colors, we were gone.

* * *

**A/N:** The intruder will be revealed in later chapters. You may be surprised. Hehe.

**P.S.** I am 100% happy to have so many new readers and so many alerts; I want them to keep on coming! Share your thoughts, leave a review/comment, write constructive criticism, I take it all! I love to hear what you have to say on the story and the characters. Any writer will never say it enough: we love reviews and we appreciate them greatly!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **Ladies and gents, I am back! This chapter took me quite a long time to finish, particularly because I kept writing a lot of scenes that would serve me better in later chapters, so I kept putting off writing this one... but here it is, finally!

_**SO SORRY**_ for not updating in months! University got the better of me!

**P.S.** How AMAZING was Deathly Hallows? (I know I'm really late on that one...) I think it's the best adaptation yet! Very excited to see part 2!

**Disclaimer:** I'm just glad my character can evolve in such a fantastic magical world.

_"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."_ – Sirius Black

* * *

The swirl of colors soon turned into solid objects, giving me a slight headache after so much spinning. We had landed in someone's garden, not far off where the Snatchers were acting out a riot.

''What is wrong with you!'' I exclaimed the minute I could take a breather.

Charlie heaved a deep sigh, as if he knew all along I'd throw a fit.

''I'm sorry, I didn't have a choice...''

''_You didn't have a choice?_'' I screeched back venomously. ''You _jumped_ on the first bloody opportunity you had to get out of the house! A dragon throwing fire at you wouldn't have made you leave any FASTER!'' I retorted, throwing my bags at him with force. ''You brag about being noble and compassionate, but you crave the danger, and this is just another one of your _lovely _adventures out in the wilderness!''

Charlie stood silent.

''We've just spent over a week negotiating our tactics, and on the first occasion, you throw it all out the window!'' I spat, putting on my cloak.

He stood silent, tucking away our bags in his pocket.

''We might not see your family or mine again, Charlie, for Christ's sake, you could have waited!''

I could see a slight shimmer of regret in his eyes, but he simply shrugged it off and grabbed my hand.

''We better get going,'' he ushered, as another loud explosion echoed not far off.

''Whatever you say,'' I replied without much enthusiasm, walking behind his footsteps.

We hurried closer to the racket; bearing in mind we could easily be outnumbered.

Just as we had thought, there was almost a dozen or so of them, seemingly bickering over something. We stayed hidden behind a low fence. Two tall figures closest to us were in a heated argument.

''If it wasn't for that stupid pathetic brain of yours, Blaine, we'd have caught the damn boy and brought him back! Now we have no money!''

''How could I have known that he was able to turn into a bloody owl?'' the other said.

''Brilliant, absolutely fantastic, Blaine, you cost us our diner for the whole week. Count yourself lucky I'm not turning your insides out with pustules.''

''Well - do your research better next time, and find out when someone is an animagus!''

''I checked! He wasn't on the list!''

''That's not my problem, Jules,'' Blaine said, shooting a dark eye at him.

''Go fetch Eleanor, I need her.''

Blaine scurried off to get the person demanded. I stared at the other man, Jules, trying to see his face properly. I looked quickly at Charlie, who was also staring at him, suspicious. The man was not hooded, and from the faint light of the burning house a hundred yards away, I caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his neck. I peered, trying to focus on the shape, but he turned away before I could see any further.

''Damn,'' I muttered.

Charlie crawled away to the left, trying to get more bits of conversation to give us the intent of their presence in the village. I crawled the opposite way, and managed to find a hole in the fence large enough to see a few figures.

''I told you Jules what would happen if you did not listen to my directions,'' a cold woman's voice echoed not far off. I tried looking in that direction, but they were out of my sight. I contented simply to listen.

''Eleanor, I wasn't sure I could entirely trust you,'' he replied faintly.

''Stop pestering me with ludicrous ideas of trust!'' she spat, her shrill voice as cold ice. ''I am not here for your vain personal purposes, Jules...''

I frowned. This woman was intriguing. I tried switching position to see better, but to no avail. I couldn't see a bleeding insect, if it were on my nose.

''Gather the others and we will set off to find this boy... I'm in charge now,'' said the woman's voice, followed by a dry laugh that left me with an uncanny feeling at the pit of my stomach.

The temptation to simply get up and look at all the faces of the intruders was infinitely close to happen, but I was stopped just in time as Charlie tugged my boot.

''_Let's get out of here_,'' he mouthed.

I shook my head. ''_That boy needs us_,'' I mouthed back, pointing at the fence.

He shook his head. ''_It's not our problem_,'' he mouthed back, pulling me away from the fence.

The frustration of the past hour was weighing heavily on my shoulders. I shoved him back and got closer to the hole to observe. The house was now fully engulfed in fire and its flames raised high in the sky, meaning help would soon be on its way. That boy they had mentioned was in danger, and I felt it was my duty to find him and get him safe.

''Back on the road lads!'' I heard the voice of Jules call out to the assembly.

The group of snatchers hurried off and finally disappeared in the incoming cloud of smoke produced by the fire, and I stepped back with a sigh.

''It's terrible, I thought they weren't that vicious with people...'' I whispered, eyeing the burning house. ''That boy's parents are probably dead, and there's no one to look after him...''

Charlie was now standing not far off, his eyes focused on where the snatchers had disappeared.

''They are looking for something,'' he said, lowering his gaze to mine. ''That woman has a specific agenda, she's the one looking for something...''

''Obviously, they're trying to find the boy. He probably has what they want,'' I replied getting up to my feet.

''No,'' he shook his head, frowning, his eyes reflecting the flames of the house. ''She's using them to get what she wants... she knows something they don't.''

''They know the boy's an animagus,'' I stated.

''They only found out tonight, but that woman already knew,'' Charlie said with a frown, analyzing the situation. ''No, something's not right.''

It was my turn to frown.

''Well the only way to find out is by following them,'' I stated.

I stood there in silence, waiting for him to make up his mind.

''Why not get back on the tracks of Jugson?'' he asked. ''I know he disappeared within a few days of tracking, but it's worth giving it another go...''

I shook my head, clearly not in the mood to get into _that_ again. ''It could take us weeks just to find his trace again... This group of Snatchers is our best bet right now. It's less risky than following a Death Eater- these Snatchers don't have an inch of the experience you and I have together.''

''It doesn't matter, they are in much larger numbers, and you haven't been trained for that yet.''

I opened my mouth, but closed it again. Then, I sighed in defeat.

''Alright,'' I said grudgingly. ''We'll get back on Jugson, and see where it goes.''

I looked quickly at my muggle watch, as not give way to the look of concern splattered across my face. Deep down, I felt a pinch of guilt at the pit of my stomach in leaving that little boy alone, with a bunch of Snatchers at his tail.

''Right, we can disapparate near Basingstoke, and if need be, closer to Wokingham. I think his family lives there,'' I said, concentrating on the mission, getting rid of any guilt left.

''You said the same thing last time, when we were in Gillingham...''

''Oh shut it, your geography knowledge is pathetic. Let me do the work,'' I said with a laugh, ducking away as he was about to grab me. ''There's a nice camping ground a few miles out of Basingstoke, so you might reconsider having me on this team, if you want to survive...''

I ducked again, but he grabbed me this time, and with a quick kiss, we disappeared from the garden of the burning house, leaving behind ravage and deaths, both of which was beyond our powers.

o.O.o

''_Julia, you could have told me that mum and dad were renewing their vows, I would have bought them a gift...''_

_I sighed with guilt. We had been sitting in the living room of our house the entire afternoon, keeping ourselves occupied while our mother was shopping a dress for the occasion._

''_Sorry, they wanted it to be a surprise for us. I found out by accident.''_

_He shrugged. ''Yeah, well next time...''_

_I laughed at that. ''Next time? Oliver, vows aren't renewed every year,'' I said, as I switched the channel on the telly._

''_Well, when you love someone, it doesn't really matter, does it? Either it be every year, every month or every day... you owe to tell that person that you'll always be there.''_

_I looked at him in surprise. ''Aren't you the great philosopher of love today,'' I said._

_He smiled sheepishly at me. ''Aye well I've been chatting with my mates, you know, and I've been thinking that I'd like to get married one day, have a house with kids, and a steady job, and live a good life, you know? Just like mum and dad,'' he finished, engulfed in his thoughts. _

_This made me smile. I kept quiet, wondering the same thing. What did I want my future to be like? _

''_Julia?''_

''_Yeah?'' I turned my head around to him. _

''_Do you think there's someone out there, this special someone that's waiting for us?'' he asked, seeming perplexed by his own question._

''_Like a soul mate, you mean?''_

''_Yes, yes, a soul mate, that's it...''_

_I looked at him for a few seconds, admiring a part of my brother I rarely saw. _

''_I do think so, yes,'' I answered after further thinking. _

''_Do you think there's one for me?'' _

_I opened my mouth, in slight disbelief. _

''_Of course Oliver, why wouldn't there be?''_

''_What if there's not enough time?''_

''_Not enough time to what?'' I asked with a frown._

''_To live.'' _

o.O.o

''Julia?''

I woke up from my thoughts as Charlie approached me. It was late in the evening, we had set up camp near Wokingham, after having spent two weeks further south with nothing except the tiny inch of information leading us that Jugson had visited someone in that area and had fled to a neighbouring village. Our questioning methods were highly successful with the muggles of the area. We had encountered one wizard, who finally admitted under threat that Jugson had been going to a nearby shop for potions ingredients, but that he hadn't seen him for a while.

''What were you thinking, just now?'' Charlie asked, sitting next to me in our makeshift bed.

I sighed, realizing I had been playing with Oliver's parting gift necklace.

''My brother... he was 16 at the time; he told me what he wanted out of life, and asked me if I believed in soul mates...'' I sighed again, trying to bury the sadness engulfing me. ''He... he had no idea what to expect, and yet, he was so hopeful of a bright future for himself...''

I looked up at Charlie, grief scratching its way to the surface.

''He wanted a family,'' I said, my voice breaking. ''And now, he's never going to have that. He's never going to be part of my future and the rest of who I am...'' I muffled a tear. ''I miss him, Charlie...'' I whispered, holding the necklace tight in my hands.

He held me to his side, and we sat there in silence, bringing each other some peace of mind.

''You still haven't told Hannah?'' he asked after a while, his tone unreadable.

I took a long deep breath. ''No, I haven't. I can't bring myself to tell her.''

''Alright, well we can't bother getting depressed about it, we've got a Death Eater to catch,'' he said, kissing me gently.

''I hate it when you're right,'' I said, kissing him back.

''I'm always right, my dear,'' he said, making a cheeky smile.

''Ha ha,'' I said, poking him on his chest. ''I'm the one that has to do everything around here, including cooking, cleaning and preparing your useless potions for your scars...''

He raised his eyes skyward. ''While I make this place safe and magic proof...''

''I could very well do that, I had Outstanding in my N.E.W.T.s Charms and in my O.W.L.s, for that matter... you had Acceptable, which is quite poor compared to my results...'' I said, giggling as I escaped the bed while he lunged at me.

''You nearly failed Transfiguration, though,'' he remarked, as I glared at him menacingly.

''You couldn't even spell Bodrig the Boss-Eyed right in your history exam...'' I retorted with a sweet smile.

''You would think a goblin's name was as easy as knowing that Pluto was the furthest planet in the system...''

''That was a calculated mistake! I did it on purpose so as not to get every answer right. How would I have known Trelawney would have called me out on it? ''

Charlie snorted. ''You had it so easy, you were every teacher's pet,'' he said with an exasperated sigh, at the same time I threw him a pillow.

''Well it can't be worse than secretly falling in love with Dilys Derwent, the painting of one of the headmistress' of Hogwarts...''

His mouth opened in shock. ''Who told you that!''

I clapped a hand to my mouth, but I couldn't contain the hysterical laugh that came out.

''So it's true!'' I gasped, before laughing even more, as he gave me a murderous look.

''The only one who knows...''

''Bill told me, one night when he had too much wine,'' I said, wiping away a tear of laughter. ''I'm sorry, he spilled the beans without me having to ask...'' I bit my lip to stop myself laughing.

Charlie got up, a triumphant smile edging on his lips.

''It can't be worse than the excruciatingly embarrassing thing you did in third year...''

My laughs were cut short.

''No,'' I said, my face frozen in horror. ''No, no, no, you can't know that, I never told anyone!''

''Well you do talk a lot in your sleep...''

My cheeks flashed bright red. ''You're lying!''

''It had affair with a lake, a giant squid, a bit of nudity...''

''Oh my fucking god,'' I said with a panicked voice. ''No, no, no, no...''

''Good thing I'm a light sleeper,'' he said with a wink.

I threw him another pillow angrily.

''You're lucky I don't have my wand to curse you into oblivion!'' I said, actually looking for my wand. ''Where is it? May as well do it now, while I still got the chance!''

Charlie observed me quietly, as I shuffled around the tent for my wand. I finally realized where I had left it, and I turned around to head for the table next to the bed, but Charlie was still sitting there, with a wicked smiled on his face.

''You git, give me my wand,'' I said, knowing he had it.

''You'll have to earn it, smartybum,'' he said with a mystifying tone.

I knew what that meant.

''Well in that case...'' I lowered myself to him, my eyes looking intently at his, our lips an inch apart from each other. ''I'll very well earn it.''

* * *

A/N: Just to be clear, they did NOT know each other at school, but they've had so much free time on their hands in the past few months to talk that these little Hogwarts secrets were bound to come out... hehe ;)

As always, leave a review, it is much mucho appreciated!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **As previously mentioned, I had already worked a lot on some upcoming scenes, therefore why I'm updating more than usual. Next chapters will only get better. Btw, I am literally hyperventilating at the upcoming part 2 of Deathly Hallows, I know I may faint, and will probably cry half of the movie- merely because it is the END OF AN ERA! It's heartbreakingly... tragic. –holds in a sob- But I'm very excited nonetheless! :D

**If you are a new reader**, please review or send feedback! I _**highly**_ appreciate any critic or comment on your part! **If you are not a new reader** and haven't visited in a while, I may urge you to click on that blue button down below, or else, this story may well take a slide down HIATUS LANE! –insert evil laugh-

**Disclaimer: **You should all know this by now: don't own, don't sue!

**Quote:** _''Perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.'' – Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

February

I walked quietly down the street, making sure I was not followed. The darkness of the night kept me well hidden from prying eyes, but you could never be careful enough. I took a deep breath and entered the black door down the last house of the street. I closed it behind me loud enough for the owner of the shop to notice my arrival.

''Ah! Miss Higgins, what a treat to see you again,'' the man said, his gloomy eyes resting on me as I looked around for a specific ingredient. He wore black robes, his greasy hair hanging loosely around his face, his beard covering most of his face as well.

''The pleasure is all mine, Calister,'' I said in a cold voice.

''I have received new supplies this week, if you'd be interested to have a look,'' he continued, his eyes glued on me as I grabbed a pot containing bat wings.

''Maybe I shall, if it's any worth,'' I replied harshly.

I continued my round for a few minutes, avoiding his gaze. This place reminded me a lot of Borgin & Burkes in Knockturn Alley, but without human bones, poisonous candles and flesh eating slugs, although I wouldn't put it past Calister to have those stashed in the back of his shop.

''I'm in need of valerian roots and leech juice,'' I demanded, walking to another stand of plants, barely giving him a glance.

''Of course, miss Higgins,'' he said, bowing his head. ''That won't be a problem.''

I nodded, making sure to keep my face in a deep frown. ''I will also be in need of lovage, fluxweed and sopophorous beans, along with my special request.''

He was busying around, grabbing the ingredients I had asked for, and aligning them on the counter before looking up at me.

''Well? Have you got it?'' I asked, pinching my lips at his lack of initiative.

I approached the counter, where he quickly disappeared behind a dark burgundy drape, which led to another room. He came back slowly with a bag in hand.

''It was hard to get on such short notice, but I managed to get it at a good price, considering its value in these times...'' he trailed off, handing it to me.

I looked at him, annoyed.

''I did ask specifically to get it from a certain region,'' I said, grabbing the bag and opening it, taking out the delicate object without delay.

''Yes, yes, it was taken from that region specifically, I made sure of that,'' he assured me.

I observed the runespoor egg critically.

''I managed to get it directly from someone who just came back from Africa. Getting one of these is no easy task, considering it is a marvellous venomous snake...'' Calister rambled on, but I barely noticed him.

''How much do I owe you?'' I demanded, my eyes still set on the egg.

Calister smiled sweetly at me.

''Your special request itself is twenty-two Galleons.''

I shot him a dirty look.

''That is highly unfair Calister, haven't I been a good customer to you?'' I said, arching my brows.

''The plants are on me, miss Higgins, if that may be of better offer?'' he said quickly to appease me.

I faked an expression of satisfaction, but quickly erased it as I spotted something unfamiliar on the egg. I looked up to him, furious.

''What is that?'' I spat, pointing to a small crack on the edge.

His pale skin went ghostly white.

''Miss Higgins, it was the best I could do for the limited amount of time you gave me...''

My eyes shot him a murderous look.

''I _demanded_ a perfect runespoor egg! You bloody incompetent fool!''

I took out my wand and pointed to a large pot behind him, the explosion echoing loudly across the shop.

''Do I look like an ignorant witch, Calister?'' I screeched, jabbing his chest with my wand.

He shook his head, his eyes bloodshot from anxiety.

''No, absolutely not, miss Higgins, you are a powerful witch, and very beautiful...''

I took a step back, a smirk appearing on my lips.

''You are always honest Calister,'' I said in a cold calculated voice. ''But smart, you are not.''

I flicked my wand at him, sending him floating upside down.

''If you dare charge me obnoxious amounts of money for your half-arsed stock, I may well come back and kill you.''

Without another word, I threw half of the Galleons demanded on the counter and grabbed the rest of the ingredients and stormed out.

It was a cold quiet night; I tightened my grip around my cloak before taking off in the opposite direction, making sure again that I was not followed. When safely out of sight and out of earshot a hundred feet outside the main road, I disapparated.

o.O.o

I settled in the tent, putting away all ingredients and setting down the runespoor egg carefully on the small picnic table we had. I sat down with a sigh and waited.

Soon enough, an audible crack was heard outside the tent.

''Took you long enough,'' I stated, carefully eyeing the man that entered.

''You wouldn't be saying so if you knew what I've found,'' he said, throwing his cloak at me.

I stared at him, deadpanned.

''Have you been followed?'' I asked, throwing his cloak on the floor.

He shook his head. I got up slowly, keeping my eyes on him.

''Password?'' I ushered.

''Pumpkin cream pie,'' he said, walking slowly towards me. ''What does my patronus turn into?'' he retaliated.

''A lion,'' I said, frowning. ''And yet anybody could have known this just by making us drink Veritaserum...''

''I could very well recount what I did to you last night...'' he said, as he tried to hide the smirk on his lips.

I rolled my eyes, although I was visibly relieved. ''I hate all these extra safety measures,'' I muttered, taking off my own cloak.

A smile finally broke his lips.

''If you keep up this beautifying potion Julia, I'll never be able to tell if you've been impersonated or not.''

''The ideal reason why I keep doing it. It works wonders on Calister,'' I said, kissing Charlie softly.

''Shouldn't it be starting to wear off by now?'' he asked, observing my face.

I touched my nose. ''I'm not sure, it varies depending on how much potion I take...''

''And how much did you take?''

I scrunched my eyes, trying to think back.

''Nearly a glass full, maybe less,'' I said, observing my now perfect slim fingers. ''I should be good as new by morning,'' I said with a shrug.

Charlie stood there in silence, observing my features.

''Your beauty is so incredible it's hard to see you otherwise... than what you are. I miss the old Julia,'' he said in a whisper with a smile, touching my cheek softly.

''You can't go back on your word, Charlie,'' I said warningly. ''I told you this wouldn't be easy for you. I can take it as long as I'd like- it's not like there are any mirrors to remind me; but for you- you see me every day...'' I said, guilt rising in my chest.

We had long discussed this idea of my impersonation, along with the risks and effects on our sanity, but Charlie had agreed to go along with it. I knew he had no idea how much it would affect him on such a long period of time, but I had let it go, deciding that only time would tell when he would no longer be able to bare it.

''I know, it's only superficial and temporary but... sometimes I dream about you looking like this, and it's just as wonderful as it is terrifying,'' he said thoughtfully. ''I don't think I'll be able to continue seeing you like this any more than a few weeks- or else, you'll drive me mad.''

The guilt I felt only worsened. He had never voiced out his struggles to me before, and now that I knew the extent of it... my god- he dreamt about it! How could I continue with this plan?

''We can think of something else,'' I said unconvincingly.

He shook his head. ''No, you've worked hard enough to get Calister's trust and impose yourself as Higgins, it would be suspicious for you to stop your regular errands now.''

I nodded, knowing he was right. I hated impersonating any kind of evil, but for the sake of our search for that Jugson bloke, I had no choice but create a new personality for myself. Once I could perfectly act as Higgins, my task was to pick someone who would lead me to the Death Eaters, eventually. This was a long process and I knew it would take every inch of patience I possessed to go through with it. Calister was my first target- once I got through him, I could get anywhere with his help, and soon enough, we'd have a firm step inside the Death Eaters circle. Or at least, what I hoped for it to be.

''I think I might have broken through him,'' I whispered finally.

His eyes widened in alert.

''What happened?''

''He actually got me the egg,'' I said pleasantly, pointing the object on the table.

He frowned at it. ''Tell me again- what was the purpose of that thing?''

I rolled my eyes. ''The egg itself is of no great importance. The crucial part is that it was only available on the black market, and only found in Africa. Henceforth, if Calister was ready to trust me to do such a purchase, there's now a level of trust, but a greater level of fear that has taken root.''

''Does the egg have any magical abilities?'' he asked, guessing it had value.

''Well for twenty-two Galleons, I bloody hope it does!'' I said, half-laughing, half-serious.

His eyes nearly burst out of his head.

''Twenty-two Galleons? Christ- Julia! We barely have any money left!''

I raised a finger at him to shut him up.

''You should also have asked if I actually _did_ pay that price or not,'' I said tartly.

''You stole it?''

''I got it on sale, more like,'' I ratified, keeping an air of dignity.

He snorted. ''Poor bloke. He must be wondering about the next time you'll be popping in for a chat...''

I gave him a long annoyed look. ''What were _you_ bloody doing then?'' I asked, eyeing his robes quickly for any sign of injuries. He had a tendency to hide them from me so I wouldn't worry. Fat chance.

''Oh the regular stroll, you know, asking questions here and there, keeping tabs on a few fellows,'' he said with a shrug.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

''You heard of Jugson, haven't you?'' I asked, my eyes widening at the possibility.

He sighed in defeat. ''He's in Cornwall, with a few other Death Eaters.''

''And you found out because...'' I asked, waiting impatiently.

''I managed to find one of his relatives, skinny bloke with large glasses, sneaky-looking and fantastic informant, but incredibly pathetic and not too bright either,'' he said with a laugh.

''So Calister is of no use to us now then?'' I asked, wondering if my impersonation days were over.

''On the contrary, he will lead us to Jugson right where we want-''

''By using me, of course,'' I finished, understanding his train of thoughts.

He made a sheepish smile. ''You are the perfect witch to infiltrate Julia, they'll never guess you are part of the Order, and they've never seen you before so they cannot trace you to anyone...''

I opened my mouth, but closed it. ''Actually, they can trace me.''

Charlie shook his head. ''No, impossible, I've thought it all through, there is no way they can know you're associated with McGonagall or me or the Weasleys. All they can know is that you worked at the Ministry- but they can't hold that against you, really- they might even consider you a strong asset, clever as you are... and it's an opportunity for you to help the Order just like you wanted to at the beginning- remember your original mission?''

''Stop.''

''The Death Eaters will never know! You play your role so well, blimey- it'll be fantastic, you'll be right under their noses and they can't even be suspicious, because you've been hanging out with Calister for a while, they will trust you...''

''Stop it.''

''It's a genius plan, Julia, you will gain precious information, and we might be able to put an end to this, without having to sacrifice anyone,'' he said, his excitement clearly overriding my presence.

''STOP!''

His eyes went up to me, the blazing exhilaration diminishing from his pupils.

''What's wrong?''

''Don't you realize that they killed my brother?'' I said, my voice barely audible. ''Don't you realize that my parents are at the top of their 'wanted Muggle list', and if they haven't already made the search of my house- they probably know that there's also my sister Hannah staying at Hogwarts, under the rule of the Carrows. What makes you think they don't know I exist?''

Charlie seemed taken aback for a moment.

''Yes... they might know you exist, if you put it that way,'' he conceded. ''And yet, have you forgotten the potion you've been taking in the last few weeks?''

''No I haven't, but that doesn't change a bloody thing!'' I said, regretting having brought up the memory of my family. ''I'm not ready to do this; I thought I could- but I'm still a mess Charlie. I think of Oliver every day and always wondering about all the 'if only's... I just can't...'' I finished lamely, unable to put into the right words the mixed feelings I felt.

He shook his head. ''You can say whatever you like, but you have an obligation to the Order now. You can't back out.''

This somewhat managed to frustrated me.

''What- I'm _obliged _to them, you say? Not bleeding likely!'' I spat, heading for the bed. ''They have you anyway, it's not like you'd be losing someone valuable...''

''Julia...'' Charlie started, as he followed me.

''You know what I should have done? I should have stayed with my family all along- I would have brought back Hannah home, and Oliver would still be alive, and none of this,'' I said, pointing at the tent around me, ''would have happened.''

I looked up at Charlie finally to see him staring at me with a look I've never seen before: a look of pain.

''Julia,'' he started, seeming to struggle with his words. ''I know that this plan is not ideal, but I did tell you it wouldn't be easy.'' He paused, shuffling a hand in his hair awkwardly. ''It's hard work and it takes ages to get to anything concrete. If you rather leave and find your parents, I won't stop you.''

I stared at him in shock. How could he have known? I never told him - and yet, he guessed spot on, as usual.

''It's easy for you Charlie, you've been in the Order for years, and you still have your whole family. You always try to accommodate everyone, putting yourself last. You can never be hard enough on yourself to doubt your decisions. But that's where we're different- I doubt myself constantly Charlie, and it may sound ridiculous to you, but I need to see my family safe before I can get any sense of self-control.''

He nodded, as words seemed superfluous.

''I'll pack my things, then,'' I said, walking pass him and muttering _accio_ to all my clothes.

I couldn't bear to look at him while I gathered my bags; I felt childish for leaving and stupid for being so irrational- but I couldn't help it. The fear of losing my family was too great- I knew I would not be able to bear any more losses. He said he understood, but I knew him better; he'd put me first above all else, even though he disagreed. But I could not return the favour, not now, anyway.

''You know I want to fight them,'' I said, wanting to make him understand. ''I want those Death Eaters dead. But beyond that perilous urge is my family's safety. You can see that, can you?''

He nodded, his face unreadable. I shrunk my bags and stashed them in my cloak, before looking at him one last time.

''I love you,'' I said, my heart breaking as I realized I had never said it before.

A spark of recognition appeared in his eyes, it light up his whole face. And yet, he kept silent. Not willing to say it back, then.

I sighed quietly and turned for the exit. I walked out and didn't look back.

* * *

**A/N:** Uh oh! Didn't see this coming? Man oh man that Julia knows how to keep us on the edge of our toes! Btw, my longest chapter yet! Tee-hee! :D

(Random: in case you were wondering, J.K. Rowling said a Galleon was ''about five pounds'' - more or less 8 dollars).

And of course: **review on your way out! Share your thoughts!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** I know I am _really late_ on this, but the last Harry Potter movie was brilliant & ab-so-lu-te-ly fantastic and I cannot believe that it's over. Just like millions out there, I have grown up with the books and the characters and they've been part of my life for so long, it's hard to let it go just yet. I'm going to miss being able to wait anxiously for a new book and listen to Mugglecast on the next film, I'm going to miss Harry, Ron and Hermione on their next adventures and I'm going to miss that feeling when you read a new HP book – it's a wonderful unexplainable thing. I miss it already. But then, J.K. is right on one thing: ''_Whether you come back by film or by page, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home_.''

On another note, I am truly sorry for the lack of updates – I've been so busy I barely had any time to write in the past 5 months! I can't promise I'll be putting up many chapters until Christmas, but I will do my best!

**P.S.** Someone has yet to discover who the intruder was at the Burrow, but no worries, all shall be revealed in due time!

**Disclaimer:** as usual, don't own, don't sue.

_"I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being — forgive me — rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger." – Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

A few days had passed, when I finally decided to travel from Wokingham to Coventry, in hopes that maybe my parents had returned home. I knew they could hide well, but I knew they'd be missing home. I apparated a street down from my house just as the sun rose for a new day, my robes discarded in my bag and my wand tucked safely inside my jacket, ready to be grabbed if the need presented itself. A cold wind had picked up as I walked silently, tugging my coat around my neck, observing the neighbouring houses. A slim coat of white covered the roofs and street, giving it an edge of gloominess I wasn't used to. All driveways were empty and homes visibly absent of life. Clearly Death Eaters had made a sweep of the place. My heartbeat quickened as the reality registered to my brain. My house...

I finally arrived in front of my porch to see the door on the ground, plastered with dried blood covered in snowflakes.

''No...'' I whispered, my eyes widening at the sight of the interior. I ran in, calling out to my parents.

''Mum! Dad! Are you there? Can you hear me?''

I ran across the hall to the living room to see it in a terrible state. I went to the kitchen to see the entire place blown up to bits, shards of glass on the floor, broken stools and cabinets... and more blood.

''Mum! Dad!'' I screamed, running upstairs, my heartbeat accelerating.

I went to their room, to find it empty, but clearly there had been a duel in the house, as every room was ripped to shreds. Signs of spells were apparent on the walls. I went in my own room to find my windows blown to bits. I went back downstairs slowly, my mind taking in the battle scene before me.

''I should have never left,'' I whispered as I sat down on the steps, my eyes transfixed by the blood on the floor of the entrance. Tears had formed at the corner of my eyes; I blinked to let them fall on my cheeks.

''You shouldn't have come back,'' someone said as I jumped to my feet, taking my wand out with ease and pointing it at the intruder.

It was my muggle neighbour, Mr. O'Riley, an old man with short white silver hair and a kind smile to whom we had tried our best to hide our magical life. Now he adorned a striking deep scar on his left cheek, wearing battered clothes.

''You're one of them, I see,'' he said, unfazed.

I lowered my wand, not knowing what to say to him.

''They came a few weeks back, a whole bloody lot of them, dark robes, setting houses on fire and killing anything that crossed their path,'' he said, as if guessing that I wanted that information. ''They came to your house and a whole lot of racket happened, flashes of red and green lights, screams and explosions- it reminded me of when I was back in the war...''

I pinched my lips, trying to keep it together.

''I didn't know if your parents were in the house or somebody else, but it was dark outside, I never saw if they came out alive or not,'' he finished in a whisper.

I sat back down on the steps of the stairs, the last breath in my body knocked out by shock.

''They came to my house the next day, they thought I'd be good entertainment,'' he said angrily, although I felt the sadness in his voice take over. ''They took my wife...''

I raised my eyes to him, my voice quivering as I spoke.

''They killed my brother.''

I kept his stare, knowing he needed to hear that, to know he wasn't alone. Then I got up, trying not to look down at the blood, but I couldn't help it, I stared down at it, transfixed, unable to pry away.

''You have to keep your hopes up, Mr. O'Riley,'' I said, my voice barely loud enough to hear. I flicked my wand at him, healing his cut and repairing his clothes. ''Hide away and pray that this war ends soon.''

He marvelled at me, as he felt his cut close off.

''You're a good witch, my dear,'' he said with a nod. ''Even if we are different, you and I, you certainly don't deserve this. What have we done to make them hate us so much?''

I sighed deeply, trying to find the right words.

''Evil has no boundaries,'' I said with finality. ''They torture and kill at will, simply because they can.''

He gave me a look of understanding.

''I wish you luck,'' he said, taking my hand and patting it.

I smiled at him, before giving one last glance to my house. It looked lost in shambles, all childhood memories gone, all memorable pictures and things destroyed, and its family permanently damaged, all sense of love and happiness evaporated like smoke. My eyes watered as my anger riled up in my chest. How could they do this? How dared they take away my life and my family? How dared they destroy everything I loved and held dear to my heart? How dared they do this?

I slowly looked up to Mr. O'Riley with an expression of controlled anger.

''I know I shouldn't have come, but I needed to see for myself,'' I said, backing away. ''If the Death Eaters come back... hide and do not provoke them,'' I commanded, knowing that I did not want death caused by my foolishness.

He nodded briefly. ''And what will you do now?''

My eyes widened in surprise – I hadn't thought of it. What should I do, seeing the devastation of my house? What should I do, now that I had abandoned the man I loved for the sake of family? Was I being fair with myself? My brain thought restlessly that my parents were my priority – but logically, where would I start looking? For all I knew, they were as good as dead. On the other hand, my heart was torn – pained to have left Charlie but dying to return to him. I knew that saving my parents was beyond my power, that finding them was like trying to find a needle in a pile of hay...

''I will fight.''

With a nod, I left the entrance before disapparating a corner away in a swirl of colors.

o.O.o

It had been a painful long day as I tried to erase the images of my house out of my mind. I had apparated not far out of my hometown, just enough to give myself some space to think.

I stopped at a coffee shop to grab a quick bite and look over the newspaper. I had kept good track of daily news in the Wokingham area, but the information had been lacking. As the waitress filled my cup, my eyes wandered over to the radio next to the rack of muffins; I could only faintly hear what was being said.

_...as early reports from this morning shows, the bridge was an accident and the government assured us that the old architecture was the reason why it fell..._

''Would you like a scone or toast with that coffee miss?''

I blinked and looked up to her.

''Oh, oh yes please, brown toast with jam, thanks,'' I replied swiftly with a smile.

She nodded and went behind the counter. My focus returned to the whispers of the radio, trying to concentrate on each word.

_...last week, twelve houses in Cornwall caught fire; there is yet to be an explanation for such a tragedy... only 3 survived..._

I froze. Cornwall? Wasn't that where Charlie had said Jugson was hiding?

_...there is yet to be a confirmation on a statement from the Prime Minister, rumours say he's out of the country for business, but a reliable source tells us that the events of the past few months have taken a toll on his health..._

I sighed. I went back to reading the paper, knowing I wouldn't be hearing much else from the radio. The paper also mentioned the house fires in Cornwall, but there was little detail on the matter. I scanned more pages, while keeping a cautious eye out. Even though I was in a Muggle area, I was not safe from any danger.

_...the final match between Manchester United and Liverpool will be... Hogwarts... the most anticipated match since 1977... 80,000 expected at Wembley stadium, hundreds of people crowding the streets... _

I looked up at the radio, unsure. Had I hallucinated this? I put down the paper and listened closely, sipping my coffee slowly.

_...last minute tickets can be purchased at the entering booth, but it is first come - first served policy... police is stationed at every door post in case of any hooligan activity..._

I sighed again. Maybe I had made it up in my head. I hadn't had much news of Hogwarts in the past weeks; not knowing how my sister was faring was edging me towards slight hysteria. The waitress arrived with my toast, and I jumped on the opportunity.

''Thanks,'' I said as she put the plate in front of me. ''Can I ask you a favour?''

She looked at me with a smile, although I saw a flicker of uncertainty. ''Sure.''

''Would you mind turning the volume of the radio up a bit? I haven't had news of the fires in Cornwall – my grandparents live there...''

Her eyes widened. ''Oh I'm so sorry to hear that!'' she said, running to the radio. ''Is that better?'' she asked from the counter, and I nodded with a smile.

I could clearly hear that there was interference on the radio, but there was a storm looming in, which explained a lot. I ate my toast slowly, all the while listening.

_...third hurricane swept the midlands this week, ripping apart most of the towns south of Nottingham, damaging hundreds of homes... luckily; only two casualties... Exmouth, on the other hand... dementors... has had its worst weather of the decade...giving a nasty hit to the beach resorts in the area, lowest sales of the season..._

I looked up from my plate towards the radio. I had not hallucinated this time. I got up to the counter to pay, knowing what I needed to do.

''Would you know where the nearest electronic shop is? For phones, radios and such?'' I asked the waitress as she gave my change back.

''There's one next door, having a sale, actually,'' she said matter-of-factly.

''Thanks,'' I said before bolting for the door.

She was right – it was next door and having a huge sale. I peeked inside quickly, looking for the owner. I went straight to ask if they had any old radios lying around, and apparently, it was my lucky day. Ten minutes later, I was outside with a 1982 radio with a broken tape recorder, but I didn't care for that. I decided it was time to leave and get back into business.

I walked to the outskirts of town and spotted a forest not far off. I ran for it as rain started falling. Once under the cover of trees, I put up protection spells all around me, before setting up my tent. Once safely inside, I sat down and opened the radio. Interference was worse, but I still managed to keep it on.

_...it's been quiet with our neighbours up north; Scottish authorities have noticed disturbances across the counties, but nothing on the scale of what we have seen here..._

I twisted the radio control, fussing with the sound and the antenna, knowing I could get another interference if I was just patient enough.

_...rumours have spread that there's violent propaganda starting up, rebelling against the troubles the country has been going through in the past few months... inferi... they are breaking into shops in Birmingham - clearly, they think fighting violence with violence will surely lead our country to safer times... _

I knew most of the wizarding radio stations, but I was finding this quite strange, considering this was the most popular British muggle station and obviously nobody else had noticed the bizarre vocabulary popping up randomly. It was not mere coincidence. There was something behind that interference, I was sure of it.

''Come on little '82, help me out here...'' I muttered, fussing with the antenna.

I spent the next 3 hours fussing over the channel, getting more words, like 'broom' and 'giant', but what kept me going was hearing 'death eaters'. I was never one to be patient, and this required an enormity of it. Before long, the sun had set and I knew I had to catch some sleep. Then I realized, after my fourth hour, that maybe this was a coded station, which required some sort of password.

''Oh why didn't I bloody think of that before!'' I muttered angrily, turning up the volume. ''Right, well let's start with...'' I racked my brain for a clever word. ''Boggart.'' I paused. ''Dragon?''

I looked at the radio expectantly.

_...now back to our top forty UK, at number five is Robbie Williams' latest single, released earlier this month..._

I frowned. Maybe a rarer word? ''Lunascope.''

_...__ Got a picture of you beside me, Got your lipstick mark still on your coffee cup, Wash it off, Got a fist of pure emotion, Got a head of shattered dreams..._

''Ugh, get a better band,'' I commented, having heard that song already too many times. ''Banshee? Grindylow? Pogrebin?'' I continued, although my hopes were diminishing by the second. ''Puffskein? Hinkypunk? Kelpie? Goblin? Occlumency? Polyjuice? Hippogriff? Bleeding hell...''

My frustration rose as I passed dozens and dozens of words, all unsuccessful.

''Charlie would know what to do...'' I whispered, turning down the volume. I sighed and got ready for a good night sleep. As I was about to close the radio for the night, I listened one last time, in hopes that somehow I would get the answer if I listened just a bit harder.

_... Breaking news – severe damage at St. Andrew's Hospital in London, apparently a fire started on the third floor of the building, evacuation was done an hour ago and now waiting on the police report..._

I sighed; I wasn't going to figure this out tonight. I got ready for bed slowly, hoping the answer would somehow appear magically in front of me, since I was out of options. Just when I was about to turn off the remaining candle, I heard an echo of footsteps outside. For a moment, I had forgotten about my protecting charms. I froze in my movements, quickly extinguishing the candle.

The footsteps came closer, along with whispers and snickering. I grabbed my cloak and popped my head out the tent, ready to face the situation. They were a large group of hooded and cloaked figures, none of which I could recognize. I peered in the darkness, in hopes that one of them wasn't – I spotted one man as he passed ten feet away from me. I noticed a faint mark of a tattoo on his neck...

My eyes widened in recognition. This was the group of Snatchers we had seen near the Burrow a few weeks back! And that bloke was named... Blaine? I racked my brain for his name. As they passed by me, I saw a small hooded figure following behind, dragging a small cage in its hands. The creature inside looked like a dead bird, or incredibly weak; it was absent of any movements. My mind made all the connections this time: that was the horrible woman I had heard over the fence who was looking for that little boy!

I scrambled back inside the tent to grab everything I needed and went back out, to be frozen in place as I found myself face to face with the most hideous woman I'd ever seen.

''Hello dear,'' she whispered with an evil smile of yellow teeth. ''Mind if we intrude?''

* * *

**A/N**: Again, big thanks to all my reviewers! You guys really give me the strength and creativity to keep going, and I'm so grateful of everyone's support for this story!

Also, for anyone who's interested, this particular chapter was inspired by 2 songs from the Deathly Hallows soundtrack: _Lily's Theme_ & _Courtyard Apocalypse_.


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